Catiline, his conspiracy. Edited with introd., notes and glossary

YALE STUDIES IN ENGLISH
ALBERT S. COOK, EDITOR

Lin

CATILINE HIS CONSPIRACY

BY
BEN JONSON

EDITED WITH INTRODUCTION, NOTES, AND GLOSSARY

BY

LYNN HAROLD HARRIS, PH.D.

INSTRUCTOR IN ENGLISH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

A Thesis presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Yale
University in Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

NEW HAVEN : YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS

LONDON: HUMPHREY MILFORD

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

MDCCCCXVI

PR

460?

WEIMAR: PRINTED BY R. WAGNER SOHN.

TO MY MOTHER,

WHOSE SELF-SACRIFICE AND DEVOTION HAVE

ALONE MADE POSSIBLE THE SCHOLARSHIP OF WHICH

THIS WORK IS THE FIRST-FRUITS

PREFACE

The noteworthy interest aroused in the rather long
neglected works of Ben Jonson within the last dozen years
would in itself be sufficient justification for a separate
edition of Catiline, even were the play not intrinsically
worthy. However, Catiline is by no means a despicable
drama. Flat as its declamation may seem beside the
rapid action of the romantic drama, it yet contains patent
evidences of greatness. The touch of a master— hand
(although it seems at times misguided) is everywhere
present— in the firm grasp of character, in the orderly
progression of plot, and in the marvelous skill with which
so many classical sources are fused into one organic whole.

Further, Catiline has a very definite historical interest.
It was the weight of Ben Jonson 's authority and example
in Sejanus and Catiline that firmly established the
Senecan tragic traditions and methods, which had pre
viously had but a precarious foothold, upon our stage.1
Then, too, critics generally have been too hasty in as-

ibing the so-called 'classical age' entirely to French
influence. Without unduly belittling this foreign agency,
I yet think it may be safely maintained that under the
impetus of Ben Jonson's authority, a 'classical' drama
of some sort was bound to evolve.

In editing Catiline, I have devoted a great deal of atten
tion to sources, because Jonson is peculiarly faithful to
his authorities, priding himself on his erudite and accurate
classicism. In this consideration of sources, I owe a
great debt to an unpublished thesis in the library of Yale
University, by Miss Alice P. Wright, A Study of Ben

1 See Briggs, Influence of Ben Jonson, etc., in Anglia 35.

vi Preface

Jonson's Catiline with Special Reference to its Sources.
The scope and sureness of Miss Wright's classical knowl
edge have spared me many plodding hours. I have not
always agreed with her results, at times I have omitted
citations I thought irrelevant, at times I have made sub
stitutions that seemed to me more nearly parallel to the
text, and I have added much new material; but even
with these deductions, a heavy share of the credit belongs
to her. I need hardly state that I have verified every
citation. Another debt which I owe, and take equal
pleasure in acknowledging, is to Mr. W. A. White of New
York City, for his kindness in lending me the Quartos of
1611 and 1635 for collation. I also desire to convey my
thanks, for help in various matters of detail, to Professors
Hanns Oertel, Frederick W. Williams, Clarence W. Mendell,
and Henry B. Wright of Yale University; and to the
Yale Elizabethan Club for the use of their copy of the
1616 Folio. I wish also to acknowledge the uniform
consideration and courtesy of the officials of the Yale
University Library, the Northwestern University Library,
the Newberry Library of Chicago, the University of
Minnesota Library, and the St. Paul Public Library.
Most especially do I wish to express my gratitude to
Professor Albert S. Cook, without whose inspiring counsel
and aid this work would never have been completed.
A portion of the expense of printing this book has
been borne by the English Club of Yale University from
funds placed at its disposal by the generosity of Mr. George
E. Dimock of Elizabeth, New Jersey, a graduate of Yale
in the Class of 1874.

L. H. H.

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS,

January 3, 1916

CONTENTS

I. PREFACE

II. INTRODUCTION:

A. EDITIONS OF THE PLAY

B. DATE AND STAGE-HISTORY .

C. LITERARY RELATIONSHIPS

1. Sources of the Plot :

Sallust ....
Cicero ....
Plutarch and others

2. Sources of the Dialogue :

Sallust ....
Cicero ....
Lucan and others .

3. Sources of the Choruses

4. Jonson's Use of Sources

5. Historical Accuracy of Catiline

6. Jonson as a Translator

7. Jonson' s Debt to Seneca

8. Catiline in the Drama .

D. CRITICAL ESTIMATES OF CATILINE .

E. EDITOR'S NOTE ....

III. TEXT

IV. NOTES

V. APPENDIX

VI. GLOSSARY

VII. BIBLIOGRAPHY

PAGE
V

ix

xiv

xvi

xvii

xvii

xix

xix

xix

xix

xx

xx

xxi

xxi

xxiii

xxvii

xxxv

xxxvi

xl

I

3

135
216
226
231

INTRODUCTION
A. EDITIONS OF THE PLAY

Collations and Descriptions

Catiline was first acted in 1611, and published in the
le year in quarto (Q i). There is no entry of it in the
Stationers' Registers, but this lack is not unusual, for ' the
Registers by no means include everything which appeared
from the press. Those who held special privileges or
monopolies for printing a certain book, or, maybe, a whole
class of books, were not, apparently, under obligation to
enter such books, and the royal printers were also superior
to the rule so far as the works included in their patent
were concerned.' * However, the charter of the Company
of Stationers was stringent enough to prevent the lawful
printing of any work not entered on its books, unless
exempt as above stated. Of course, numerous 'pirated*
editions were issued by the secret presses ; but the 1611
Quarto of Catiline can scarcely have been of this type,
as a glance at its title-page will show : CATILINE |
his i CONSPIRACY | Written | by | BEN : IONSON. |
LONDON, | Printed for Walter Burre. \ 1611. | Walter
Burre was a member in good standing of the Company,
and had already issued editions of Jonson's Alchemist,
Sejanus, and Volpone. This Quarto is a clearly printed
volume, containing : title, one leaf (verso, heraldic device) ;
dedication, one leaf ; addresses to the reader, one leaf recto ;
commendatory verses, 2 one leaf verso, one leaf recto ;
names of the actors, one leaf verso ; text B— 03 in fours.

1 Cambridge Hist. Eng. Lit. 4. 433.

2 See Appendix, pp. 2i6ff.

x Introduction

The addresses to the reader (also found in Q2) are de
cidedly Jonsonian in flavor. W. and G. introduced them
into their editions. They read as follows :

TO THE READER IN ORDINARIE.

The Muses forbid, that I should restraine your medling,
whom I see alreadie busie with the Title, and tricking
ouer the leaues : It is your owne. I departed with my
right, when I let it first abroad. And now, so secure an
Interpreter I am of my chance, that neither praise, nor
dispraise from you can affect mee. Though you commend
the two first Actes, with the people, because they are the
worst ; and dislike the Oration of Cicero, in regard you
read some pieces of it, at Schoole, and vnderstand them
not yet ; I shall finde the way to forgiue you. Be any
thing you will be, at your owne charge. Would I had
deseru'd but halfe so well of it in translation, as that
ought to deserue of you in iudgment, if you haue any.
I know (whosoeuer you are) to haue that, and more. But
all pretences are not iust claymes.

The commendation of good things may fall within a
many, their approbation but in a few ; for the most
commend out of affection, selfe tickling, an easiness, or
imitation ; but men iudge only out of knowledge. That
is the trying faculty. And, to those works that will beare
a Iudge, nothing is more dangerous then a foolish prayse.
You will say I shall not haue yours, therefore ; but rather
the contrary, all vexation of Censure. If I were not aboue
such molestations now, I had great cause to think vn-
worthily of my studies, or they had so of mee. But I
leaue you to your exercise. Beginne.

To the Reader extraordinary.

'You I would vnderstand to be the better Man, though
Places in Court go otherwise ; to you I submit my selfe,
and worke. Farewell. BEN: IONSON.'

Editions of the Play xi

All marginal notes are omitted in this Quarto.

The next appearance of the play was in the Folio of 1616.
There are several mutually independent impressions of
this,1 of which I have seen two — the one in the Yale Li
brary (Fi), and the one in possession of the Yale Eliza
bethan Club (F2). Fi reads: LONDON | Printed by \
William \ Stansby. \ An0 D. 1616. F2 reads : LONDON j
Printed by W : \ Stansby. and are | to be sould by |
Rich: Meighen | An°D. 1616. Although Aurelia Henry2
mentions a copy in the British Museum reading similarly
to F2, which varies in 'a few instances of punctuation,
spelling, and typography' from Fi, I can discover no
differences in Catiline. A collation of the two texts
reveals an absolute identity : title-page, verso blank ; dedi
cation recto, catalogue verso, etc.3 Even the misprint in
Catiline, where page 713 is headed 317, is repeated. Fi
has been chosen as the text of the present edition, because
it exhibits the most consistency, and contains the fewest
apparent errors. Although it varies in numerous par
ticulars from the text of Qi, the fact that its variations
have been pretty generally incorporated in the later prin
tings indicates that it was from the first regarded as
authoritative.

Following Catiline's appearance in the 1616 Folio came
the Quarto of 1635 (Q2), reading, CATILINE | HIS |
CONSPIRACY | WRITTEN | BY | BEN: IONSON |
And now Acted by his MAIE STIES Servants | with
great Applause, | LONDON: | Printed by N. ORES, for
/. 5. | 1635. It is very carelessly printed, as its many

1 See W. W. Greg, Mod. Lang. Quart., Apr. 1904, pp. 26 — 29.

2 Epicoene (Yale Studies -31) xiii.

3 For collation, see Poetaster, ed. H. S. Mallory (Yale Studies 27),
xii. A separate collation after the method proposed by Judson
(ed. Cynthia's Revels, Yale Studies 44, xiv ff.) yields the same
result with respect to Catiline in Fi and F2.

xii Introduction

mistakes show. Its text follows in the main Qi, as omis
sion of the marginal directions indicates. The collation
is as follows : title-page, one leaf (verso blank) ; addresses
to the reader, one leaf recto ; commendatory verses, one
leaf verso, one leaf recto ; catalogue, one leaf verso ; text
B-L4 in fours (bottom margins cut into).

In 1640 appeared the second Folio of Jonson's complete
works (1640) — a slovenly piece of printing, containing
many errors, such as a part for apart in i. 340 ; our for out
in i. 357 ; the omission of the second you in 2. 78 ; vpon for
vnto in 3. 196 ; Porter for potter in 3. 542 ; Of for Or in 4.
550 ; SEN. for SER. in i. 572, etc. Aside from its errors,
it differs little from Fi, although it would seem, upon the
evidence offered by Aurelia Henry,1 not to be a re
print of that, but of another copy of the 1616 Folio in
the British Museum. The title-page reads : LONDON,
| Printed by \ Richard Bishop, | and are to be sold by
Andrew Crooke, | in SL Paules, Church-yard. \ An0 D.
1640.

In 1674 appeared the third Quarto (£(3) of Catiline.
The title reads : CATILINE | HIS | CONSPIRACY |
A | Tragoedie. ! As it is now Acted by His | MAJES-
TIE'S | Servants; | at the Theatre ROYAL. The
Author B. J. | LONDON, Printed for A. C. and are to
be sold by William \ Cademan at the Pope's Head \ in the
Lower | walk of the New Exchange, 1674. This edition
has but little value, being merely brought out because
the play had been recently popular in a stage-revival. It
omits the dedication, but is in other respects a reprint
of the 1616 Folio, with minor changes in spelling and
punctuation. There are some careless mistakes, such as
yearly for early in I. 210 ; the omission of the rest in i.
353 '> thy for they in i. 539 ; ever for euery in 2. 347 ; spy

1 Epicoene, ed. Henry (Yale Studies 31) xv.

Editions of the Play xiii

all for spiall in 4. 233, etc., showing the hasty nature of
the work. Following the title-page comes a prologue,
and at the end of the volume is an epilogue. These are
given in the Appendix, pp. 218 — 19.

Catiline next appeared in the third Folio, 1692. This
edition is a reprint of that of 1640, and follows most of
its errors. Spelling is modernized, so that do's becomes
does, 'hem becomes 'em, etc. The punctuation is much
changed, especially in the reduction of redundant commas,
and the enlarged use of the colon.1 In 1716 there
appeared a booksellers' reprint of this Folio, in seven
octavo volumes. It is of slight importance, although its
changes in the text I have thought best to incorporate
in my footnotes.

In 1756 appeared Peter Whalley's edition of the works
(W). Whalley modernizes spellings, adopts an indepen
dent punctuation, divides into scenes at the entrance of
new characters, encloses all verse in quotation-marks, and
runs in Jonson's marginal directions between the lines,
or as footnotes. His text in the main follows that of
1716, although it is not quite so faulty. Whalley's edi
tion was reprinted by John Stockdale, London, 1811.

In 1816 William Gifford produced his edition of Jonson
(G). Gifford approached his task in a scholarly manner,
choosing the Folio of 1616 as the standard of his text, but
also considering the readings of the Quartos. Although
not entirely thorough, his edition is much superior to
Whalley's, both in text and notes. He very amusingly
loses patience many times with Whalley's somewhat pu
erile emendations, and takes him to task in rather caustic
and mordant terms : notwithstanding which, he is him
self free in making emendations, usually without com-

1 For collations of the three Folios see Poetaster, ed. Mallory
(Yale Studies 27).

sdv Introduction

ment. Gifford is the first to divide the acts into scenes
according to place instead of according to speaker, and
gives the setting of each scene. All entrances and exits
of characters are noted by him in stage-directions or side-
notes. These changes make a play such as Catiline much
more intelligible to the general reader. Gifford's text is
available in his two editions, those of 1816 and 1846, and
in the reprint with 'perfunctory improvements' (the
phrase is Dr. Herford's) by Lieut.-Col. Cunningham in
*8?5, which is still the standard for Jonson's complete
works. His alterations of the text are mainly modern
izations : ay for the interjection I ; them or 'em for 'hem ;
have for ha' ; the for th\ etc. All important variants
will be found in the footnotes to the text.1

So far as I have been able to learn, there are no trans
lations of Catiline.

B. DATE AND STAGE-HISTORY

The date of the first acting of Catiline, according to
the title-pages of Fi, F2, and Qi, was 1611. As all dates
were then reckoned in old style, however, this may well
have been 1612 ; and the absence of a record in the
Stationers' Registers leaves us without any definite data.

The title-page of Q2 informs us that the play was at
that time (1635) 'acted by his MAJESTIES Servants
with great Applause,' but I am unable to discover any
contemporary notes of its appearance.

It was early revived at the Restoration, and was, on
the whole, well received. Under date of December n,
1667, Pepys says, ' I met . . . Harris, the player, and there

1 For collations of 1716, W, G, and C— G, see The Alchemist,
ed. Hathaway (Yale Studies 17).

Date and Stage-History xv

we talked . . . particularly of Catiline, which is to be sudden
ly acted at the King's house ; and there all agree that it
cannot be well done at that house, there not being good
actors enow : and Burt acts Cicero, which they all con
clude he will not be able to do well. The King gives
them £ 500 for robes, there being, as they say, to be six
teen Scarlett robes.' On December 18, 1668, the play
was produced, evidently somewhat later than had been
at first planned, with Hart as Catiline, Mohun as Cethegus,
Burt as Cicero, and Mrs. Corey as Sempronia. On the
next afternoon Pepys saw it, but was not greatly im
pressed, as his words testify : '. . . Saw Catiline's Con
spiracy, yesterday being the first day : a play of much
good sense and words to read, but that do appear the
worst upon the stage, I mean, the least diverting, that
ever I saw any, though the most fine in clothes ; and a fine
scene of the Senate, and of a fight, that ever I saw in my
life. But the play is only to be read.'

The play was still being revived in 1674, as the title-
page of Q3 shows : 'As it is now Acted by his MA JE-
STIE'S Servants.' John Downes in his Roscius Angli-
canus mentions Catiline as one of the stock plays com
monly produced in his day, all of which, he states, ' proved
very satisfactory to the town.' Gerard Langbaine the
younger in his Account of the English Dramatic Poets (Ox
ford, iGoi),1 says that Catiline continued 'still in vogue
on the stage (in his time), and was always presented with
success.' However, there is no reason to belie ve that the
play survived on the stage longer than the opening years
of the eighteenth century. In the main, Pepys' conten
tion that Catiline is ' only to be read ' is right ; although
one could hardly imagine it a total failure on the stage, it
is to-day primarily a 'closet-drama.'

1 Quoted by Gifford. I have not a copy at hand.

xvi Introduction

C. LITERARY RELATIONSHIPS

Catiline is a play of frank borrowings. In Jonson's
day, when classical knowledge was held in rather more
popular esteem than at present, it is highly probable that
a considerable number of his readers and auditors rec
ognized at once a large share of his quotations and allu
sions. The only method of producing a true historical
play was, in Jonson's mind, his own — that of painstaking
reference to the classics. Jonson was one of the few Eliza
bethans who had any regard for 'atmosphere,' and to
whom such anachronisms as the striking of a clock in
Brutus' orchard1 were abominations. A Roman play
must be Roman, and its characters must speak as Romans
spoke. On such a hypothesis, there could be but one
conclusion : one must go to Roman speeches as they have
been handed down to us, go to contemporary documents
and transcribe them. Such a thesis is in the main right,
but in it lies the grave danger of making too much of the
letter at the expense of the spirit. This is precisely Jon
son's case. Great as was his ingenuity, great as were his
assimilative powers, there yet remains in Catiline much
suspended erudition : masses of pedantry, so to speak, not
in perfect solution. The traces of mosaic work (to change
the figure), work very clever in itself withal, are not to
tally obliterated. However, in justice to Jonson, one must
add that to the general reading-public of to-day, not so
versed in classic lore as the poet's auditory, these things
are not greatly in evidence.

As I have said, Catiline is a play of frank borrowings.
At times it is a literal transcript of authorities, at other
times it is strongly reminiscent of them. In his efforts
to catch the true Latin 'atmosphere,' the author even
goes so far as to twist the English idiom, as in 4. 823,

1 Julius C essar 2. i. 191.

Literary Relationships xvii

where / heare ill is the poet's attempt to render the Latin
male audio, ' I am ill spoken of. ' Then, too, there are his
translations of virtus by vertue, pietas by pietie, and the like.
The odor of the scholar's taper is strong upon such.

The sources of Catiline fall readily into three main
classes : first, those of the plot, wherein I include the char
acters ; second, those of the dialogue ; and third, those
of the choruses. To the plot, Sallust's Catilina of course
makes the greatest contribution, and the characters are
mainly developed in the way it suggests ; but the con
temporary works of Cicero, the Lives of Plutarch, and the
accounts of Suetonius, Dio Cassius, and others are used
freely. Into the dialogue many elements enter — speeches
from Sallust ; one whole oration from Cicero, and excerpts
from others ; figures from the Pharsalia of Lucan ; and
single quotations from scattered sources — Florus, Claudian,
and others. To the choruses Petronius Arbiter contri
butes most, as the first chorus is in large measure a trans
lation of the rhapsody of Eumolpus (Satiricon 119, 120) ;
but another chorus, the fourth, owes greatly to Sallust,
although not a mere translation.

i. Sources of the Plot

Sallust. No other one authority supplied so much to
the plot of Catiline as the Catilina of Sallust. Sallust's
real narrative commences with section 14. Beginning
here, the next three sections paint Catiline's character,
suggest that it was the memory of Sulla's former easy
and profitable triumphs that animated him to rebellion
(this is even more strongly hinted in section 5), trace his
crimes, and discover in them the unceasing scourges that
drove him on to crimes still greater :

The ills, that I haue done, cannot be safe
But by attempting greater.
b

xviii Introduction

Now, closely parallel to this in Jonson is the introduction
of Sulla's ghost, the catalogue of Catiline's misdeeds, and
Catiline's monologue containing the lines just quoted a-
bove. Following this, Jonson introduces Aurelia Orestilla,
who has been mentioned by Sallust in section 15 ; and
then comes the first meeting of the conspirators, both in
Jonson and Sallust. To show at a glance how far Jonson
has used the Catilina, I here give a table of parallel
references.1

Jonson Sallust

Act i. Lines 1—73. • • • Sections 5, 15

73-in ... „ 15
„ 111-191 ... „ 16
„ 191— Chorus. . „ 17, 20, 21, 22

Act 2 Hints in Sections 23, 25

Act 3. Lines 1—490 ... „ 26

„ 490-Chorus. . „ 27, 28

Act. 4. „ 24-538 ... „ 31

„ 538-600 ... „ 32, 33, 39, 40

„ 600-707 ... „ 41

„ 707-781 ... „ 44

„ 78i-Chorus. . „ 45

Act 5. „ 1-68. ... „ 59

86-102 ... „ 49, 46

„ 102-367 ... „ 47, 48

„ 367-420 ... „ 58

„ 420-^nd ... „ 50-53, 55, 59~6i

Sallust, however, not only supplies the main frame
work for the plot, but it is from him that many of

1 This table is adapted from a similar one in Miss Wright's
unpublished thesis.

Literary Relationships xix

the chief characters are drawn. Sempronia and Aurelia
Orestilla, Catiline, Lentulus, Cethegus, Curius, and Pe-
treius are principally from his pages, although hints from
other quarters are worked in. Many of the minor char
acters are not mentioned in any other account than the
Catilina.

Cicero. To fill in the outline furnished by Sallust, Jon-
son made heavy drafts on Cicero. However, these are
generally in the dialogue, which I shall consider later.
Practically the only part of the action taken from Cicero
is the circumstantial account of the meeting of the senate
(in act 5) at which the conspirators were convicted, which
is from the third Catilinarian. However, the character
of Cicero is due almost entirely to his self-revelations in
his speeches, and the portrait of Catiline receives several
effective touches from his hand.

Plutarch, etc. The contribution of other authorities to
the plot proper is, on the whole, negligible. Dio Cassius
gives a description of prodigies that may not be imitated
in Act i. Plutarch adds touches to the characters of Cat
iline and Lentulus, supplies the portrait of Antonius, and
furnishes the basis for the letter-incident in Act 5, and for
Cicero's personally leading the conspirators to execution.
From Suetonius is the mention of the libel against Caesar
in Act 5, and from him the character of Caesar seems to
be principally drawn. However, the sum of these is
but a small portion of the whole.

2. Sources of the Dialogue

Sallust. Sallust furnishes to the dialogue four of the
five long connected speeches in Catiline : Catiline's ad
dress to the conspirators in Act I (Cat. 20), Catiline's
speech to his soldiers in Act 5 (Cat. 58), and the speeches
of Caesar and Cato in the senate on the punishment of the

b2

Xx Introduction

conspirators in Act 5 (Cat. 51 and 52). A number of
shorter quotations also occur : Act i : 165-169, 179-181,
428-430, 441-449, 463-465; Act 2: 34-56 (the de
scription of Sempronia), 66-68, 310-312 ; Act 3 : 534~536 ;
Act 4: 516-518, 558-563, 612, 614-616, 640-643, 777,
783-792, 798.

Cicero. One long speech is from Cicero — the oration
against Catiline before the senate, in Act 4, taken from
the first Catilinarian. Besides this, the following lines are
either quoted from Cicero, or suggested by him :

From i Cat.— 3. 815-827; 4. 653-655
„ 2 Cat.— 5. 22-50
„ 3 Cat.— 4. 75-77; 5- 103-335
„ 4 Cat.— 3. 264; 5. 424-432; 437-438; 439-

446; 499-516

„ Pro Mur. — 3. 21-24; 219-222; 4. 151-155
„ In Pis. —3. 29-31
„ In Ccd. -4. 129-133

Lucan and others. Jonson's borrowings from other
sources are generally for 'atmosphere.' In describing
the horrors, for instance, of Sulla's sway, which Catiline
and his followers hope to see repeated, he goes to Lucan 's
Pharsalia, where a vivid picture of civil strife is ready
at hand, and incorporates many of its details in the
account of the meeting of the conspirators in Act i.
When Fulvia acquaints Cicero with the plot, in Act 3,
Lucan supplies many of Cicero's exclamations of horror.
He also furnishes part of Catiline's speech in the
senate in Act 4, and figures for the description of
Catiline's death in Act 5. Seneca furnishes several
hints for the monologue of Sulla's ghost in the first
act. Single quotations even appear from Petronius,
whose phrase 'ingeniosa gula' is caught up in i. 391
as witty gluttony. Even so little known an author as

Literary Relationships

xxi

Claudian1 seems to have furnished more than a hint for
the vigorous lines on the giants' war in 5. 677 ff. Reminis
cences of Horace occur, such as in i. 126 and 4. 30—33.
A phrase, 'KpdtTei, piOuore', is taken from Plutarch's Cato
Minor (5. 578) ; Fionas' Epitome furnishes 3. 285—288 and
5. 688—691 ; and Quintus Cicero is quoted in 4. 122—126.
Instances might be multiplied, but full references are given
in the Notes.

3. Sources of the Choruses

Chorus i owes its flavor to the incorporation in it of
some eight quotations from the Satiricon of Petronius.
While the chorus is by no means entirely a translation,
the parts not from Petronius are mainly but amplifications
of his thought. Chorus 2 is largely Jonson's own, save
for one hint from Horace ; Chorus 3 is also practically
original. Chorus 4 contains only one direct quotation,
but its gist is plainly taken from Sallust, with possibly
some aid from Cicero's Pro Murena.

The treatment I have here given the sources has been
brief, because I shall have more to say about them in the
next section and in one taking up Jonson as atranslator.

4. Jonson's Use of Sources

The borrowings in Catiline are sometimes rather intan
gible. Scarcely more than a fourth of the play is actual
translation, and yet scarcely more than a fourth is orig
inal. This is due to Jonson's method. Take, for in
stance, the first meeting of the senate in Act 5. Every in
cident is reproduced from Cicero's own account in 4 Cat., but
there is practically no out-and-out quotation. Through
out, Jonson treats Sallust much as a modern play
wright would a novel he was dramatizing — a historical

1 Claudian was more widely known in Jonson's day, however,
than now.

xxii Introduction

novel, let us say. That is, he follows the outlines of the
story pretty closely, taking dialogue where it is given, and
wheretis/ft not, going to other sources, contemporary prefer
ably, to supply it. If he finds nothing definite there,
he at least has learned enough to understand how his char
acters might speak. So in Catiline Sallust furnishes most
of the plot, many of the character-studies, and a fair
share of the speeches ; Cicero supplies much of the dia
logue directly, especially as a great part of his speeches
in the play consists of mosaics from his works ; and the
dialogue which is not directly furnished by Sallust, Cicero,
or the minor sources, is almost always developed from
them. The striking exception is the second act. For
this Jonson had nothing but a few hints as to the cha
racter of Sempronia, and a bit from Ovid, and out of this
scant stuff he wove one of the most sparkling of all his
comic scenes. But this is unusual. Jonson 's aim is not
to be original. He believes in sticking to his book, and
as a result, although he gains in mechanical realism, he
loses in dynamism. By reason of Jonson's strict attention
to sources, Catiline is a thoroughly Roman drama, far
more so than Julius Ccesar : but who would ever consider
comparing the two ? Despite Jonson's real power, the
weight of pedanticism ties him down, and Catiline can
never be said to soar.

Jonson's attempts to be literally faithful to his author
ities sometimes lead him astray. I shall cite a few
examples. In Act i, following the appearance of the
ghost, and in direct accord with the atmosphere it has
created, Catiline, in his monologue, seems just deciding
to plot against his country. The phrase, It is decree'd,
would indicate that a mental struggle, with the resolve
to revolt as its culmination, has just ended. However,
a few lines later, when the conspirators meet, Jonson has
his eye upon Sallust so closely that he forgets this phrase,

Literary Relationships xxiii

and represents, with Sallust, the plot as already well ad
vanced. Again, Jonson for his own purposes desires to
maintain a fictitious unity of time. But he forgets this
also, when (again following Sallust) he calls upon Syllanus
as Consul next designed, in Act 5, to give his judgment on
the conspirators, notwithstanding that (as it seems to the
reader) Cicero has just been elected to the consulship.1
Again, he translates a line from Cicero in Act 4 to make
Gambinius Cimber the enginer of all ; but in his own account
Cimber has been merely a figure-head. In an endeavor
to reconcile Plutarch's and Sallust's accounts of the at
tempts to murder Cicero, the former crediting the whole
to Cethegus, he uses them both. The same sort of thing
occurs in Act 3 and Act 4, Catiline threatening (in both
places) to quench opposition to him with fire and ruin ;
in the first instance to Cato before the delivery of the
first Catilinarian, in the second instance to Caesar in an
swer to it. This is because Cicero in Pro Murena 25 and
Sallust in Cat. 31 give different accounts. More instances
of the sort might be adduced.

5. Historical Accuracy of Catiline

A strange anomaly in the case of Catiline is that, closely
as it follows sources, it is not in the main true to history.
This inaccuracy, however, is no fault of Jonson 's. He
lived in an uncritical age. Sallust's account was undoub
tedly considered beyond reproach then, especially as
Plutarch, Dio Cassius, Appian, Floras, and the other
authorities agreed so substantially with it . But to us of to
day that very agreement is suspicious. As Merimee2
points out, the accounts are so painstakingly alike that

1 But see Buland, Presentation of Time in the Elizabethan Drama,
chap, i, Double Time. At best the time-problem is here handled
but poorly by Jonson, however.

8 £tudes sur I'Histoire Romaine.

xxiv Introduction

the conjecture at once arises that they have all been
drawn in the main from one common source. Then, too,
Sallust and Plutarch, the two principal authorities, as
Merimee further observes, were both stylists, fonder of
beautiful phrases than of plain facts. Sallust, more
over, had cause to be prejudiced, as he was a violent par
tisan of Caesar. Indeed, Dr. Speck1 considers the Cati-
lina as nothing more than a campaign-document (' Partei-
schrift') for Caesar. Plutarch is equally untrustworthy
for another reason. In his Lives he always paints his
characters in high lights and deep shadows, striving for
contrasts, and so brightens the virtues of Cicero and
blackens the vices of Catiline.

We have every reason to believe that Catiline, while
certainly far from a 'model young man/ was not so bad
as he has been depicted. Profligate he was, but profli
gacy was the gentlemanly vice of the age. Even the
partial Plutarch admits his favorite Cato to have been
entangled in adulterous liaisons. That Catiline murdered
his son, forced a vestal, or corrupted his daughter, would
seem to be improbable, in view of the fact that he was
twice2 able to stand for the consulship. He had been
rather closely connected with the regime of Sulla, but
many noteworthy citizens had also taken part in its
horrors : a highly developed sense of mercy and pity was
not a common Roman attribute. Above all, he was
ambitious : but so was Caesar ; and there is no evidence that
Catiline was any more ambitious or unscrupulous than he.

I hold no brief for Catiline. His course was doubtless per
nicious, and he had in him over — much of the demagogue ;
yet I do think that he was no unusual monster, but merely
a logical product of his age. The seeds of decadence
had long been sown, and Catiline was one of the first-

1 Katilina im Drama der Weltliteratur.
' Mommsen thinks only once.

Literary Relationships

fruits. He was but the natural link between Marius and
Sulla on the one hand, and Caesar and Augustus on the other.
There were real abuses in Rome, many of them glaring,
and the steadily increasing concentration of wealth had
produced a deep unrest and a growing protest for more
equal distribution. Especially did there seem to be in
justice in the debtors' laws, which, we are led to believe,
lay heavily upon Catiline himself, until his fortunate
union with the rich Aurelia relieved him. Smarting from
real or fancied personal wrongs, and fired with ambition,
Catiline readily mistook his own cause for that of the
public - - a mental procedure by no means without
parallel. By nature he was peculiarly fitted to be the
leader of a discontented faction. All authorities, even
Cicero, agree as to the dignity of his birth, his rare in
tellectual equipment, and the persuasive charm of his
personality. At first, his intentions were to seek reform
through legitimate channels. He offered himself for the
consulship twice, and his second candidacy seemed sure
of success. However, a very unusual turn of circum
stances, an unexpected combination of interests, defeated
him, although it carried in Antonius, whom he had
planned to have as colleague. The other new consul,
Cicero, was a man of great abilities, but, as Ferrero
terms him, a ' notorious political trimmer ' — a professional
advocate, not over-consistent in his acceptance of cases,
who had even numbered Catiline among his clients.
Further, he was of mean birth, a novus homo. This
defeat was too much for the proud patrician Catiline,
and he at once set on foot plans for an active revolution,
which he seems to have thought could be rather easily
accomplished. Cicero, however, inordinately vain of his
new honor, and desirous at all costs of making a name
for himself, forced the hand of Catiline. In a fiery
speech in the senate he brought to bear all the tricks

xxvi Introduction

of his consummate oratory, with the result that Catiline,
finding his backers stupefied into silence, was forced to
leave the city. There is but little doubt that Cicero had
slight positive evidence against Catiline when he delivered
this speech. There is even a grave suspicion that some
of its charges were invented for the occasion ; for Cicero
was a wily politician, as is shown by his display at one
time of his gorget, to create the impression that his
life was in danger. However, the oration served its
purpose, Catiline departed, and Cicero daily grew in
favor with the people.

Like all popular leaders, Catiline had a motley crowd
for a following — men with all manner of grievances, agreed
in nothing save that they were malcontents. As long
as he was personally in Rome, he was able in a measure
to curb his subordinates, and to preserve at least a
factitious unity in his party. Once he was away, how
ever, things became chaotic. That portion of his follow
ers dominated by the hot-headed Cethegus and the
credulous Lentulus, whom the purple lure of empire
had made mad, decided on strenuous measures. The
slaves were to rise, the senate was to be slaughtered, the
city to be fired (possibly it was Cicero's charges that
first inspired some of these plans). Of course, the result
was inevitable. Catiline was not yet prepared for open
war; but the incredible stupidity of his adherents in
attempting to tamper with Rome's allies, the Allobroges,
and the consequent discovery, compelled him to trust
to the fortunes of battle. The outcome is well known.

The view I here take of Catiline's conspiracy is sub
stantially that of Ferrero, Merimee, and Speck. That
Catiline was bad I admit, but one must give even the
devil his due. To the stories as to Catiline's former
conspiracy, in which Crassus and Caesar were alleged to
be implicated, and which I have mentioned in my Notes

Literary Relationships

xxvn

as part of the current gossip, I give no credence. Not
only the evil that men do lives after them, but much that
they never even thought of doing. Catiline had the
misfortune to have two prejudiced biographers, and has
suffered unjustly in consequence. However, as I re
marked before, we cannot blame Jonson for accepting the
authorities he found, because his was an uncritical age.
But it is a cruel paradox that this tragedy, on which such
vast pains were spent for absolute accuracy, should be,
after all, so largely mistaken.

6. Jonson as a Translator

'Drummond was right when he wrote, "Above all
things he (Jonson) excelleth in a Translation." As his
two tragedies show . . . the thing he could do supremely
well was to turn the lifelessness of the classics into terms
of contemporary vitality. In the best sense of the word,
no better translator ever lived : he never forgot that
faithfulness to his original is only half the task of the
translator, who adds only to the dead weight of printed
matter if he fail to bear to living men, in living language,
tidings that without him were to them unmeaning ' (Bar
rett Wendell, in Library of World's Best Literature, vol. 14).

With this criticism I heartily agree. So, also, in the
main, does Miss Wright in her unpublished thesis which
I have several times mentioned. Indeed, Miss Wright's
criticism of Jonson 's translations is so lucid and so
capable that it would be supererogatory for me to add
to it ; so I shall reproduce the main portion of it here.

'Let us turn now to a particular consideration of
the method employed by Jonson in rendering Sallust
and Cicero into Elizabethan English, and the success
with which he accomplished his task. Let us take two
speeches, one from Sallust and one from Cicero, on which
to base our study, in which we must have in mind the

xxviii Introduction

two points of view from which every translation should
be judged. We must observe, first, in what way and how
successfully the translation preserves the diction and
sense of the original, — whether diction is sacrificed to
sense, or sense to diction, or whether both or neither have
been effectively kept. In the second place, the trans
lation must be judged, with no regard to its origin, as
a piece of English composition.

'In comparing Jonson's version of Catiline's address
to the conspirators with that speech as found in Sallust's
Catiline 20, the first point to be noticed is the number
and nature of his original insertions, which are not intro
duced for the sake of adding any new thought, but for
the sake of developing and emphasizing the thought
already expressed in Sallust. The best example of such
an insertion for emphasis is the one introduced between
i. 394 and 405, where Jonson seems inspired by Catiline's
indignation at the arrogance and extravagance of the
Roman potentates to break away from his model, and
to pile up accusation after accusation against the offen
ders, concluding with one of the most forcible and striking
figures of the play :

We, all this while, like calme, benum'd Spectators,
Sit, till our seates doe cracke ; and doe not heare
The thundring mines.

Another example of a passage inserted for the sake of
making the point more emphatic is found in the trans
lation of Sallust's " vulgus fuimus," which Jonson renders :

Are hearded with the vulgar; and so kept,
As we were onley bred, to consume corne ;
Or weare out wooll ; to drinke the cities water.

Many of Jonson's original lines were brought in to make
clear the transition of thought between two sentences,
the connection between which would not have been

Literary Relationships

XXIX

sufficiently brought out by a literal translation. Lines
345—346 are a good example of this kind of insertion.
In lines 352—353,

The riches of the world flowes to their coffers
And not to Romes,

what has been said in the preceding five lines is summar
ized, and the main idea emphasized, in a manner which
gives the necessary clearness and completeness to the
thought.

'Besides taking such pains to bring out clearly the
point of thought, Jonson also strives, by the addition of
metaphors and figurative language, to make it forcible
and poetic. His most successful attempt thus to beautify
some prosaic statement is in his translation of Sallust 's,
"his obnoxii quibus, si respublica valeret, formidini
essemus," which he translates,

Trembling beneath their rods : to whom, (if all

Were well in Rome] we should come forth bright axes.

Other figurative translations are :

"potentium" — the giants of the state. (348)

" quis mortalium tollere potest" — It doth strike my soule. (374)

"divitias superare" — Swell with treasure. (377)

"divitiae, decus, gloria in oculis sita sunt" —

Behold, renowne, riches and glory court you (411), etc.

'But Jonson 's method of translation in general can
be best shown by a word-for-word comparison of some
connected passage in Catiline with the passage correspon
ding to it in Sallust. Let us take, for example, the
first ten lines of the speech. The first sentence of this
in Sallust is as follows :

Ni virtus fidesque vestra spectata mihi forent, nequidquam
opportuna res cecidisset ; spes magna, dominatio, in manibus
frustra f uissent ; neque ego per ignaviam, aut vana ingenia,
incerta pro certis captarem.

xxx Introduction

The first clause, "Ni virtus fidesque vestra spectata
mihi forent," is translated by Jonson :

Noblest Romanes,

If you were lesse, or that your faith, and vertue
Did not hold good that title with your bloud.

This is certainly the freest sort of translation. The sense
of the clause is kept, but only two words, "virtus fides
que," are translated literally. The address, Noblest Ro
manes, and the ingenious play on the word noble are ori
ginal, and the latter adds new suggestion to the original
idea, though it must be admitted that the expression is
a bit obscure.

'The next two clauses, "nequidquam opportuna res
cecidisset ; spes magna, dominatio, in manibus frustra
fuissent," are rendered by Jonson so freely that the
result can be called translation only in the broadest sense
of the word. He has gathered up the meaning of the
clauses, and expressed it in a very general way, when
he says,

I should not, now, vnprofitably spend
Myselfe in words,

in which the word vnprofitably carries the whole point
of Sallust's meaning.

'The last clause of the sentence follows Sallust more
closely, but is still quite free. Sallust had said, "neque
ego per ignaviam aut vana ingenia, incerta pro certis
captarem" and Jonson translates this:

Or catch at empty hopes
By ayrie ways, for solide certainties;

in which sentence, catch at translates "captarem;" by
ayrie ways, "per ignaviam aut vana ingenia;" empty
hopes, "incerta"; and for solide certainties, "pro certis."
In these five lines, surely, Jonson has effectually dis-

Literary Relationships xxxi

proved Professor Herford's statement1 that Jonson's trans
lations were characterized by 'rigid fidelity.'

'It is, however, true that most of Jonson's work is
not so notably free as the passage given above. The
next five lines, which follow the original a little more
closely, and yet with no slavish subservience to the form
in which the Latin expresses itself, are more typical of
Jonson's average work. The first clause of the sentence
is characteristic of Jonson's style of translation where he
follows Sallust more closely : " Sed quia multis et
magnis tempestatibus, vos cognovi fortes fidesque — "

But since in many, and the greatest dangers

I still haue knowne you no lesse true, then valiant—

a faithful translation, but expressed in such easy and
rhythmical English that the adjective "rigid" could
certainly not be applied to it. The rest of the passage :

eo animus ausus maximum atque pulcherimum facinus
incipere ; simul, quia vobis eadem, quae mihi, bona malaque
intellexi ; nam idem velle atque nolle, ea demum firma ami-
citia est

is translated :

And that I tast, in you, the same affections

To will or nill, to thinke things good, or bad,

Alike with me : (which argues your firme friendship)

I dare the boldlier, with you, set on foot.

Or leade, vnto this great, and goodliest action.

Here Jonson has cleverly changed the order, and woven
together the more or less disconnected clauses of the
original into a compact whole, while he has rendered the
Latin into flowing and forceful English in a manner
which gives an accurate rendering of the thought and
feeling of the original, and yet does not allow itself to be
trammeled by a too conscientious fidelity.

1 See Diet. Nat. Biog.

xxxii Introduction

'Comparing Jonson's translation as a whole with
Sallust's version of the speech of Catiline, we find, then,
that he has brought out Sallust's ideas clearly, emphat
ically, and accurately. His work is characterized by an
ease and smoothness not found in Sallust's succession of
short, abrupt sentences. It nowhere degenerates into
a servile word-for-word rendering of the original, and is
dominated throughout by spirit and energy.

'Now it is a strange fact that, although a close com
parison of the kind which we have just made will prove
Jonson's translations to be remarkably free, a hasty
reading without such comparison is likely to leave the
impression that they are slavishly literal — a fact which
no doubt explains the cause of so many really unjust
criticisms. This is due to a certain peculiarity in Jon
son's style, which I shall now try to illustrate and explain
by a comparison of Cicero's speech in the Senate with
its original in the first Catilinarian. The peculiarity
to which I refer is the frequency of Latinisms, or the
use of derivatives or equivalents of Latin words in their
native, not their English, sense.

' In order to illustrate what I mean in my comparison
of Jonson and Cicero, I shall not be able, as in the speech
just discussed, to use one connected passage for detailed
analysis, but shall be compelled to base my conclusions
on a selection of the sentences in which this characteristic
is most strikingly brought out. In the six following
clauses, it will be noticed that each of the chief words
is used in the distinctly Latin meaning of the word
which it translates, and that this gives an effect of rather
servile following of the Latin. The phrase in Jonson's
rendering, Speake, and this shall conuince thee is a
free translation of Cicero's "convincam, si negas,"
in which Jonson's convince is a Latinism for "convict."
Aske my counsell, I perswade it, translates "Si me

Literary Relationships xxxiii

consulis, suadeo." What domesticke note Of priuate
filthinesse translates " Quae nota domesticae turpitud-
inis," where the word note is made to carry the meaning
of the Latin word "nota," "a brand." In the phrase,
Who Of such a frequency, translating "quis ex hac
tanta frequentia," the word frequency means, like the
Latin "frequentia," "a crowd." So much consent is
a translation of "tantam consensionem," "so much una
nimity"; and in the sentence, All shall be cleere, made
plaine, oppres'd, reueng'd, a comparison with the Latin
"omnia patefacta illustrata, oppressa, vindicata esse
videatis" shows that the word oppressed really means
"suppressed", as does the Latin "oppressa."

' Now this is the kind of translation that the ordinary
schoolboy is apt to make, on account, perhaps, of a
lack of vocabulary, or an inherent indisposition to take
the trouble to think up the exact word ; and Jonson has
received no little abuse because of it. A glance through
the pages of Catiline will show, however, that these
Latinisms are used not only in translations, but also
frequently throughout the play. His Sejanus, too, is
full of them. But it will also be noticed that they are
used comparatively rarely in his comedies. The frequent
use of a peculiar diction throughout two plays, and a
rare use of it elsewhere, would seem to indicate a special
purpose for its introduction in those particular instances.
And undoubtedly Jonson had such a purpose. Just
as we saw, in studying his treatment of the recorded
facts of the conspiracy, what pains he took to produce on
his hearers exactly the effect which would have been
produced on them by reading Sallust or Cicero, so now
we see this same idea showing itself in his method of
translation. His appeal in each case is to the reader
extraordinary, who is familiar with Sallust and Cicero,
in whose mind he hopes the Anglicized Latin words will

xxxiv Introduction

rouse the memories and associations connected with
their Latin use. Relying on the subtle suggestiveness
which all these words contain, on account of their inti
mate connection in our minds with the thoughts and
literature of ancient Rome, he strives to bring us back as
nearlv as possible into the spirit and atmosphere of the
worl(jl of Catiline and Cicero. Jonson's purpose is the
same) as that of certain writers who, in picturing scenes
of days gone by, make their characters speak in quaint
and stilted language, to give a flavor of reality. The
weakness in this method is that it produces the required
illusion only in those who are very familiar with the
Latin language. The uninitiated, thinking that the
words are used in their customary sense, find them often
unmeaning in the connection in which they occur, and
sometimes even inconsistent. A striking example of
this is found in the first sentence of Jonson's translation
of Catiline's speech to the conspirators. There he trans
lates the Latin "virtus" — meaning "courage," "capa
bility" — by its English derivative, "virtue." The reader
in ordinarie, taking the word in its accustomed English
sense, wonders that it should be used to describe a band
of men to whom no quality could have been less appro
priately attributed. And here I must mention another
thing that Jonson does less frequently, but with the
same purpose; namely, the introduction now and then
into his play of a word-for-word translation of some
Latin idiom. In 4. 823, for instance, Cicero says,

My vertue
(Will) glad me, doing well, though I heare ill,

the last two words of which are a literal rendering of the
Latin idiom, "audire male," "to be ill spoken of." In
i. 416, vse me your generall translates "imperatore me
utimini," where your generall is made predicate apposi-

Literary Relationships

xxxv

tive to me, as in the Latin clause. Jonson speaks of
this one CATILINE (4. 444) instead of saying "Catiline
alone," as if he were translating the Latin " unus Catilina " ;
and when he wishes to say that something is inconsistent
with something else, he uses the expression abhorring
from (5. 479), evidently having in mind the Latin con
struction "abhorrens ab."

'It can easily be seen how a superficial critic, not
noticing that these Latinisms and Latin idioms are used
in the original parts of Jonson 's play, as well as in the
translations, nor realizing the purpose for which they
were introduced, might consider them the earmarks of
uninspired renderings.'

7. Jonson' s Debt to Seneca

In many ways we must call Catiline a Senecan tragedy.
It is certainly not tragedy exactly such as Seneca wrote,
but it would seem that Jonson certainly believed he was
reproducing Senecan traditions. The play opens with the
familiar Senecan ghost, introduced with much the same
purpose as the overture to a Wagnerian opera. There is
the Senecan dearth of rapid movement, although Catiline
has considerably more real progression than is usual with
Seneca. Further, the hero (if we way call him such) is a
thoroughly depraved character, not at all resembling the
Greek tragic heroes : and such a hero and his career of
crime are what Seneca delights to portray. The long
dialogues, full of sententice (such as The vicious count
their yeeres, vertuous their acts, etc.), the choruses having
no connection with the dramatic action, and the use of
portents, as if Nature reflected man's moods, are also
thoroughly Senecan. However, it is in the character
of Catiline that Seneca's influence shows most plainly.
Catiline in Sallust is immensely practical, and never works
himself up into such frenzies of rage and hate, in which

C2

xxxvi Introduction

he breathes out fire and slaughter against all who oppose
him, as Jonson has him do, for instance, in the furious
rant of 4. 640-658. The character of Cethegus is also
quite after Seneca's manner. A final and convincing
proof that Jonson had an eye to Seneca is the imitation
of Thyestes in the very opening lines of Catiline*

8. Catiline in the Drama

Catiline has been a much more ancient and popular
dramatic figure than has been commonly supposed.
Even before the appearance in 1470 of the editio princeps
of Sallust, there was performed at Florence the Istoria
Fiorentina of Ricordano Malespinis, a dramatic chronicle
beginning with Adam, and including such other well-
known mythological characters as Electra, Dardanus, Her
cules, etc. The thirteenth section of this rather monumen
tal performance treated of Catiline and 'della congiura,
che fe Catellino con certi Romani.' From all reports,
however, Malespinis' treatment of history was, to say
the least, highly fanciful, as Attila ( !) plays a prominent
part in the plot.2

Preceding Ben Jonson 's play came at least two Eng
lish Catiline-dramas. About 1578 Stephen Gosson pro
duced Catillins Conspiracies, a tragedy. Gosson was
a sturdy Puritan, and put out a tract against the stage,
The School of Abuse, in 1579. However, as he says in
that pamphlet, tragedies are 'tollerable at sometyme/
and this one, 'a Pig of myne owne Sowe' as he styles
it, he frankly confesses to be of that sort. This play
is unfortunately lost, as is also another, mentioned in
Mr. Henslowe's MSS., Catiline's Conspiracy, by Robert

1 See Notes.

2 For a full discussion of this, see Hermann B. G. Speck, Katilina
im Drama der Weltliteratur.

Literary Relationships

XXXVll

Wilson and Harry Chettle, acted in 1598. As Gifford
ably argues, however, Jonson's use of original authorities
is so marked that it is highly improbable that he owed
anything to either of these productions.

Catiline by no means ceased to be an attractive figure
with the appearance of Jonson's drama. In Dr. Speck's
Katilina im Drama der Weltliteratur, a Katilina is re
corded as late as 1905. Dr. Speck gives a list, thirty-nine
titles in all, of plays dealing with Catiline, which is here
reproduced, with occasional restoration of an original
language.

Stephen Gosson, Catillins Conspiracies. Before 1579.
R. Wilson und H. Chettle, Catiline's Conspiracy.

1598.

Ben Jonson, Catiline his Conspiracy. 1611.

Rhetorische Sallustubung, am Magdalenceum zu Bres-
lau. 1658.

Actus Oratorius Sallustianus, zu Gorlitz. 1669.

Conjuracion de Catilina (Spanish ; undated ; anony
mous).

F£nelon, Dialogues des Morts. 1710.

The Conspirators, or the Case of Catiline. 1721.

Pellegrin, Catilina. 1742.

P. J. Crebillon, Catilina. 1748.

Cargula, Parodia del Catilina, trag. de Crebillon.

1749-

Catilina, Ambitionis Victima. Salzburg. 1749.
Voltaire, Rome Sauvee (Catilina). 1754.
E. v. Kleist, Charon und Katilina. 1759.
Karl B. Stieff, Catilina am Elilzabetan zu Breslau.

1782.

J. G. Casti, Catilina. Before 1792 (opera).
A. von Perglas, Katilina. 1808.
J. O. Rauscher, Katilina. 1813.

xxxviii Introduction

Croly, Catilina. 1822.

Grillparzer, Katilina. Circa 1822.

Catiline. 1823 (historical tragedy by the anony
mous author of The Indian merchant}.

Platen, Katilina. ?

H. von Schmid, Katilina. 1824.

A. E. Guichard, Catilina Romantique. 1844.

Fr. Dingelstedt, Katilina. Circa 1846 (incom
plete).

Dumas-Maquet, Catilina. 1848.

H. Ibsen, Katilina. 1850.

F. Kiirnberger, Katilina. 1855.

Karl Schroeder, Die Verschworung des Katilina.

1855-

H. Lingg, Katilina. 1864.
P. Bettoli, Catilina. 1875.
H. Pohnl, Katilina. 1877.
A. Goss, Katilina. 1885.
Th. Curti, Katilina. 1892.
H. zu Ysentorff, Videant. 1899.
S. Lublinski, Der Imperator. 1901 (a Caesar-drama,

in which Catiline figures).

H. Eulenberg, Kunstler und Katilinarier. 1902.
Luise Wohl, Hollenvision. 1902.
Adolf Bart els, Katilina. 1905.

The Conspirators, or the Case of Catiline, which is
quoted anonymously in the above list, has been inserted
by mistake. This was not a play, but a very indifferent
historical essay, culled for the most part from Sallust,
by one Thomas Gordon. To the above list should be
added a Latin play in MS., Catilina Triumphans, of
uncertain date, probably circa 1595.

Of the plays mentioned in this list, I have been able
personally to examine only those by Cre"billon, Voltaire,

Literary Relationships

XXXIX

Croly, and Dumas-Maquet. None of these hae much in
common with Jonson, nor, indeed, with history. In Cre"-
billon's drama, Cicero is so far entrapped by Catiline's wiles
as to entrust him with a command in the army ; and at
the end, Catiline commits suicide in the temple of Tellus,
in company with Cicero's daughter Tullia, whom he
loves. In Voltaire's play, Aurelia is a lovable woman,
totally ignorant of Catiline's baseness, who dies from a
broken heart on discovering in her husband the murderer
of her father and the betrayer of his country ; and the
denouement is brought about by Caesar, who, refusing
to join the conspirators, commands in the battle that
subdues them. In Croly 's production (quite a readable
one, by the way), Catiline is at first well-meaning, but
is urged on by his wife, who somewhat resembles Lady
Macbeth ; in the final scene, Catiline dies just as he has
been informed that his troops have swept all before them.
In the joint work by Dumas-Maquet — a very spirited
and rapid piece, but wildly romantic — the prologue pre
sents Catiline's rape of a vestal ; later, Cicero plans to
murder Catiline for the good of Rome, and Catiline is saved,
just in the nick of time, by Charinus, his newly found son
by the vestal ; Cicero wins his election to the consulship
through a rank fraud performed by Fulvia, who loves
him ; Aurelia, a veritable devil, discovering the existence
of Charinus, kills him, and pours his blood into the
pledge-cup of the conspirators ; and Catiline, on discov
ering this horrible deed, takes his life.

The play by Ibsen, one of several Catiline-dramas
resulting from the ' March- Revolution ' of 1848, I have,
unfortunately, not been able to find in translation. That
it bears any relation to Jonson, however, I consider
improbable.

xl Introduction

D. CRITICAL ESTIMATES

'Starke Stilisierung zeigt sich in der Charakteristik
der Personen. Jonson hat eine eigenartige aber auf
medizinischen Anschauungen der Renaissancezeit be-
mhende Theorie der Charaktere, die der sogenannten
"humours", worunter das einseitige Hervortreten einer
Eigenschaft zu verstehen ist. Dies macht sich auch
im Katilina bis in die Nebenpersonen hinein bemerkbar.
Katilina ist immer und uberall der gleiche energische,
wild auf sein Ziel lossturmende Gewaltmensch, eine
Entwicklung und Steigerung findet kaum statt. Cethe-
gus ist stets der Draufganger, Lentulus kommt immer
und immer wieder mit seiner Weissagung und seinem
Aberglauben, selbst den Allobrogern tischt er ihn auf.
Sempronia fuhrt unausgesetzt ihr Griechisch im Munde,
und Cicero halt lange Reden, wo er geht und steht.
Es ist aber nicht gerechtfertigt das so scharf zu tadeln,
wie Sagelken es tut, denn jede Stilisierung — und auf
eine solche geht Jonson offenbar aus — beruht auf einer
Herausarbeitung des Wesentlichen unter Auslassung des
Nebensachlichen und tut somit in gewissem Sinne der
Natur Gewalt an. Da es dem Dichter zudem in Komo-
die wie Tragodie auf eine Darstellung von Typen und all-
gemeinen Zustanden ankam, so erscheint sein Verfahren
ganz richtig. Auch darf man nicht vergessen, dass die
Charaktere durch diese Vereinfachung an Wucht und Ge
walt gewinnen, was sie an naturalistischer Lebenswahr-
heit verlieren.

'Katilina erscheint denn auch bei Jonson als eine
ins Riesenhafte gesteigerte Verbrechernatur, deren Be-
rechtigung eben, wie schon in der Einleitung hervor-
gehoben wurde, in der iiberwaltigenden Macht ihres Auf-
tretens liegt. Dabei hat der Dichter eigentlich nichts
getan, um ihm wiirdige Gegner zu geben. Denn Cicero

Critical Estimates xli

macht sich mit seinen vielen schonen Reden fast etwas
lacherlich, Kato und Katulus werden zu ziemlich farb-
losen Nebenpersonen herabgedriickt und auch das nicht
sehr wiirdige Benehmen von Casar und Krassus dient
nur dazu, um die Partei der Verschworer, die die reichste
Mannigfaltigkeit an kraftvollen Charakteren aufweist,
in ein giinstigeres Licht zu setzen.

'Ausserdem wird Katilina noch mit allerhand sym-
pathischen Charakterzugen, wie der Liebe zu seiner
Gat tin, mit uberlegener Klugheit und Menschenkenntnis,
unglaublicher Energie und unbeugsamem Trotze aus-
gestattet, und schliesslich loscht sein heldenhafter Tod,
nachdem er mit grosster Tapferkeit bis zum letzten
Atemzuge gekampft, viele von seinen fruheren Schand-
taten aus. Katilina ist also ein Verbrecher aus Ehr-
geiz im grossten Stile, ein "erhabenes Scheusal", das
auftritt wie eine wilde, schaurigschone Naturgewalt.
Er wird zwar unterdriickt und vernichtet, aber nicht
eigentlich iiberwunden, das heisst zur Anerkennung ge-
zwungen, dass seine Gegner im Rechte sind. Im Gegen-
teil, die allgemein verderbten Zustande des Staates recht-
fertigen sogar grosstenteils sein Vorgehen, fallt er doch
schliesslich nur der Eifersucht einer Frau und einem
geschickten Spionagesystem zum Opfer. Wir haben
also hier eine Darstellung vor uns, die dem Bilde der
antiken Quellen von Katilina in alien seinen Teilen vollig
gerecht wird, Jonsons Drama ist eine klassische Behand-
lung des Katilinastoffes. Es besteht eben unzweifelhaft
eine innere Verwandtschaft zwischen diesem Stoffe
und dem Geiste der Spatrenaissance.' — H. B. G. Speck.
Katilina im Drama der Weltliteratur, pp. 26 — 28.

'Aussi bien quoi qu'il fasse, quels que soient ses
defauts, sa morgue, sa durete* de touche, sa preoccupation
de la morale et du passe", ses instincts d'antiquaire et de
censeur, il n'est jamais petit ni plat. En vain dans ses

xlii Introduction

tragedies latines, Sejan, Catilina, il s'enchaine dans le
culte des vieux modeles uses de la decadence romaine ;
il a beau faire 1'ecolier, fabriquer des harangues de
Ciceron, inserer des choeurs imites de Seneque, declamer
a la facon de Lucain et des rheteurs de 1'empire, il atteint
plus d'une fois 1'accent vrai ; a travers la pedanterie, la
lourdeur, 1'adoration litteraire des anciens, la nature a
fait eruption ; il retrouve du premier coup les crudites,
les horreurs, la lubricite grandiose, la depravation effron-
tee de la Rome imperiale ; il manie et met en action les
concupiscences et les ferocites, les passions de courti-
sanes et de princesses, les audaces d'assassins et de
grands hommes qui ont fait les Messaline, les Agrippine,
les Catilina et les Tib ere. On va droit au but et intre-
pidement dans cette Rome ; la justice et la pitie n'y sont
point des barrieres. Parmi ces mceurs de conquerants et
d'esclaves, la nature humaine s'est renversee, et la cor
ruption comme la sceleratesse y sont regardees comme
des marques de perspicacite et d'energie.' — H. A. Taine.
Histoire de la Litter ature Anglaise, 2. 107 — 8.

'Catiline is an historical tragedy of exceptionable
merit ; save for the fortuitous interest which the problem
of the character of Tiberius excites in Sejanus, the later1
must be pronounced the superior play. Consummate
is the portraiture of conspirators — braggart Cethegus ;
Lentulus, voluptuary and dreamer ; savage and des
perate Catiline ; and skillful is the contrast of these with
prudent Cato and with Cicero, eloquent to the verge of
garrulity and appreciative of his own abilities and
achievements to a point that halts just short of comedy.
But if Jonson's fidelity to the greater portraits of history
is worthy of praise, not less admirable is the effect which
he has contrived to produce in representing to us, with a

1 Catiline (1611) was later than Sejanus (1605).

Critical Estimates xliii

vividness which only the stage can attain, the social
life of ancient Rome. The scenes in which figure the
fickle, wanton Fulvia, and Sempronia, vain of her
knowledge of Greek and ambitious to be dabbling in
politics, are second to nothing in the satirical high com
edy that the age has left us.

'But there is yet another aspect in which Jonson's
later Roman tragedy deserves serious attention. Cat
iline is alike the final expression of Jonson's theories as
to English tragedy and one of the most successful among
English tragedies modeled on ancient dramatic theories
and ideals. For although Jonson, be it reaffirmed, was
no supine classicist, but believed, to use his own words,
that "we should enjoy the same license or free power
to illustrate and heighten our invention as the ancients
did ; and not be tied to those strict and regular forms,
which the niceness of a few — who are nothing but form —
would thrust upon us" ; * yet Catiline shows, as compared
with Sejanus, a retrogression to earlier ideals and a
stricter regard for the minor practices if not the larger
spirit of Seneca. Thus the drama opens with an Induc
tion in which figures the ghost of Sylla; and lyrical
choruses in a variety of metres interlard the acts. But
these, as Gifford put it, are "spoken by no one, and
addressed to no one,"2 and, although at times of great
literary excellence, are absolutely inorganic. Catiline
with its historical portraiture, its consummate dramatic
dialogue and constructive excellence, is no Senecan
drama. That Jonson should have fallen short of ab
solute success in these Roman tragedies of his mature
years is wholly due neither to the defects in his theory
nor to his limitations as an author. The trend of the

1 Every Man Out, Induction.

2 Gifford, Wks. 4. 189.

xliv Introduction

age was against such art, as the trend of our age is against
it. And when Swinburne dubs Sejanus "a magnificent
mistake" and esteems Catiline as valuable alone for its
proof "that Jonson could do better, but not much better,
on the same rigid lines,"1 with due respect for the super
lative powers of a great poet, we must keep in mind that
we have rhapsodic and impressionistic art for the nonce
arrayed in judicial robes and sitting in judgment on all,
in short, that it is not.' — F. E. Schelling. Elizabethan
Drama 2. 33 — 35.

'The tragedy of Catiline his Conspiracy gave evidence
in the following year that the author of Sejanus could
do better, but could not do much better, on the same
rigid lines of rhetorical and studious work which he had
followed in the earlier play.2 Fine as is the opening of
this too laborious tragedy, the stately verse has less
of dramatic movement than of such as might be proper —
if such a thing could be — for epic satire cast into the
form of dialogue. Catiline is so mere a monster of
ravenous malignity and irrational atrocity that he
simply impresses us as an irresponsible though criminal
lunatic : and there is something so preposterous, so
abnormal, in the conduct and language of all concerned
in his conspiracy, that nothing attributed to them
seems either rationally credible or logically incredible.
Coleridge, in his notes on the first act of this play, ex
presses his conviction that one passage3 must surely
have fallen into the wrong place — such action at such a
moment being impossible for any human creature. But
the whole atmosphere is unreal, the whole action un
natural : no one thing said or done is less unlike the truth

1 A Study of Ben Jonson, p. 56. 2 Sejanus.

3 The reference is to i . 505 ff. The incident may be in questionable
taste; but Coleridge probably misunderstood its purpose. See
Iv, infra.

Critical Estimates

xlv

of life than any other ; the writing is immeasurably
better than the style of the ranting tragedian Seneca,
but the treatment of character is hardly more serious
as a study of humanity than his. In fact, what we
find here is exactly what we find in the least successful
of Jonson's comedies : a study, not of humanity, but of
humours. The bloody humour of Cethegus, the braggart
humour of Curius, the sluggish humour of Lentulus, the
swaggering humour of Catiline himself — as huffcap hero
as ever mouthed and strutted out his hour on the
stage — all these alike fall under the famous definition
of his favourite phrase which the poet had given twelve
years before in the induction to the second of his
acknowledged comedies.1 And a tragedy of humours
is hardly less than a monster in nature — or rather in that
art which " itself is nature." Otherwise the second act
must be pronounced excellent : the humours of the rival
harlots, the masculine ambition of Sempronia, the ca
prices and cajoleries of Fulvia, are drawn with Jonson's
most self-conscious care and skill. But ijthe part of
Cicero is burden enough to stifle any play : and some
even of the finest passages, such as the much-praised
description of the dying Catiline, fine though they be,
are not good in the stricter sense of the word ; the rhetor
ical sublimity of their diction comes most perilously
near the verge of bombast. Altogether, the play is
another magnificent mistake] and each time we open or
close it we find it more difficult to believe that the
additions made by its author some ten years before to
The Spanish Tragedy can possibly have been those
printed in the later issues of that famous play. Their
subtle and spontaneous notes of nature, their profound
and searching pathos, their strange and thrilling tone of

1 Every Man Out.

xlvi Introduction

reality, the beauty and the terror and the truth of
every touch, are the signs of a great, a very great tragic
poet : and it is all but unimaginable that such an one
could have been, but a year or so afterwards, the author
of Sejanm and again, eight years later, the author of
Catiline. There is fine occasional writing in each, but
it is not dramatic : and there is good dramatic work in
each, but it is not tragic.' — A. C. Swinburne. A Study
of Ben Jonson, pp. 56 — 59.

'A fondness for judging one work by comparison with
others, perhaps altogether of a different class, argues
a vulgar taste. Yet it is chiefly on this principle that
the Catiline has been rated so low. Take it and Sejanus,
as compositions of a particular kind, namely, as a mode
of relating great historical events in the liveliest and
most interesting manner, and I cannot help wishing
that we had whole volumes of such plays. We might
as rationally expect the excitement of the Vicar of
Wakefield from Goldsmith's History of England, as that
of Lear, Othello, &c, from the Sejanus or Catiline. . . .

'What a strange notion Ben must have formed of
a determined, remorseless, all-daring, fool-hardiness,
to have represented it in such a mouthing Tamburlane,
and bombastic tongue-bully as this Cethegus of his ! '-
S. T. Coleridge. Works 4. 193 — 94.

Although this array of opinions is already formidable
enough, I cannot resist the temptation to include part
of Voltaire's preface to his Catilina, because it is so
refreshingly naive.

'Nous avons toujours cru, & on s'etait confirme plus
que jamais dans 1'idee, que Ciceron est un des caracteres
qu'il ne faut jamais mettre sur le theatre. Les Anglais,
qui hazardent tout sans m£me savoir qu'ils hazardent,
ont fait une tragedie de la conspiration de Catilina.
Ben- Johnson n'a pas manque, dans cette tragedie histo-

Critical Estimates

xlvii

rique, de traduire sept ou huit pages des Catilinaires,
& meme il les a traduites en prose, ne croyant pas que
Ton put faire parler Ciceron en vers. La prose du consul,
& les vers des autres personnages, font a la verite* un
contraste digne de la barbarie du si£cle de Ben-Johnson ;
mais pour traiter un sujet si severe, si denue de ces
passions qui ont tant d'empire sur le coeur, il faut avouer
qu'il fallait avoir affaire a un peuple se*rieux & instruit,
digne en quelque sorte qu'on mit sous ses yeux 1'ancienne
Rome. ... On n'a point fait paraitre les deputes des
Allobroges, qui n'etaient point des ambassadeurs de nos
Gaules, mais des agens d'une petite province d'ltalie
soumise aux Remains, qui ne firent que le personnage
de delateurs, & qui par la sont indignes de figurer sur
la scene avec Ciceron, Cesar & Caton.'

It will be seen that there is no little divergence of
opinion here, and a moment spent in endeavoring to
reconcile the disagreeing doctors may not be amiss.
Speck and Swinburne state that Catiline is substantially
a play of 'humours,' and such, too, is the latent inference
in Coleridge's brief note. Schelling, Swinburne, and
Taine alike dwell on the vigor of Jonson's pictures of
Roman social life in the early Decadence ; and does not
this tally with Swinburne's statement that 'there is
fine occasional writing, but it is not dramatic : and
there is good dramatic work, but it is not tragic ? ' I
really think Swinburne has touched the heart of the
matter in these words.

The speeches of Catiline to the conspirators and to
his troops, and Cicero's two speeches in the senate, are
fine bits, not only as translation but as literature ; yet
they are after all occasional, and not in any true sense
dramatic. Even Gilford incorporated in his edition a
note to the effect that Cicero's long oration would tax
the lungs of any actor. On the other hand, the second

xlviii Introduction

act — which seems to me the most dramatic of all, with
its masterly portrait of the vain and pampered Sempronia,
and its skilful hints at Fulvia's jealousy (whereby Rome
is finally to be saved) — is not at all tragic. Nor can the
characters be considered truly tragic. Take Catiline.
Swinburne is too supercilious in the utter dismissal of
him as impossible, for he is really splendidly conceived.
He rants at times, but the rant is never pure fustian.
In many instances he is cruel to the limits of credibility,
but the limits are never actually exceeded ; and we
must always remember that the Elizabethan stage
abounded in superb villains. The audacity, the dissimu
lation, the persuasiveness, the cunning, the dominant in
tellectuality of Catiline — all these are skilfully developed.
But with all this, Catiline is not a tragic figure. The
fault does not lie, it appears to me, in Jonson's deliberate
rejection of Aristotle for Seneca. Shakspere's Richard III
hit Aristotle's theory of the necessary respectability of
the tragic hero a severe blow. But Shakspere had a
much larger sense of the true values of life than Jonson.
Physical death in his dramas is never the real tragedy,
but merely an incident : the tragedy in Richard is in the
decay and utter degradation before us of a human soul. A
conception like this never occurs to Jonson in Catiline, and
physical death is the all-in-all ; so that, as our sympathies
are never once aroused, the end does not move us.

The same strictures may be applied to the characters
of the other conspirators. Cethegus and Lentulus,
especially, are very dramatic and effective portraitures,
but they utterly lack tragic dignity. Well done as they
are, they are out of place.

Cicero, too, seems to me essentially an undramatic
figure, although wonderfully drawn. True to life, he
is long-winded to the point of boredom, and inordi
nately given to praising his own motives and deeds ; but

Critical Estimates xlix

despite this, as Schelling points out, there is about him
a certain large dignity and air of sincerity that invest
him with considerable charm. Especially human is
his reference to Terentia in speaking to Fulvia, which
might be paraphrased thus : ' I could learn to love you,
but my wife won't let me ! ' Another instance of the
same sort is the sneering remark that probably his wife
has sent him cautions 'how to behave him.' These
touches make him seem very real and very near to us,
and give us a much closer personal interest in him than
his saving of Rome ever could. We view heroes as a
rule impersonally until we learn some little intimate
thing about them which brings home to us that they
are men even as ourselves : who, after hearing of poor
Socrates' beratings by Xantippe, does not thrill more
sympathetically at the fatal draught of hemlock ? But
despite these effective bits of insight, Cicero is not really
a dramatic figure. The art displayed in his portrayal
isjnore that of the novelist than of the playwright.

In another section of this Introduction, I have called
attention to Jonson's obvious debt to Seneca. Catiline
is, however, by no means purely Senecan. Seneca
lacks frequently a sense of order, which always loomed
large with Jonson. For example, authorities told Jonson
that Fulvia betrayed the conspirators ; but in a drama,
where everything requires motivation, the first question
that arises is, why ? Having no authorities to work on,
Jonson was forced to depend on his own imagination,
and produced the answer in the brilliant second act.
The results there achieved lead one to rather more than
suspect that had Jonson not been quite so pedantic,
had he had more faith in the validity of his spontaneous
instincts, he would more often have attained genuine
greatness. As it is, his orderly progression of plot and
sure grip on character, together with his toning down of

d

1 Introduction

the riotous decadent elements, reveal that he has made
large advances on Seneca, and that he had a thorough
knowledge of the necessary mechanics of the drama.

In short, then, although I should not go so far with
Swinburne as to call Catiline 'a splendid mistake/ I yet
consider it what the French would probably call a
drame manque, one that has most of the requisite
elements, but has not quite 'arrived.' It just falls short
of success. Indeed, the method of Jonson in this play
practically precludes its complete success. In another
section of this Introduction,1 I have called attention to
Jonson 's determined efforts to gain 'atmosphere' by
his painstaking references to the classics. Not only
does he conscientiously follow the authorities in their
historical data, but, as I have observed, and as a glance
at the Notes will amply verify, he has drawn largely
on classical sources for the dialogue. More than that,
he has added a vast deal of allusion. Instances of this
are fully taken up in the Notes, but it may not be amiss
to collect a few here.

We find, for example, references to religion, such as
mention of household gods, the household Lar, Mars
and Jove as the protectors of Rome, the Sibyl's books,
the vestal nuns and the vestal flame ; historical allusions
to the Gracchi, Cinna, Marius, Hannibal, Sulla, Camillus,
Cincinnatus,2 Tarquin, the Bruti, Decii, Cipi, Curtii,
Fabii, and Scipios; reference to Attic statues, Tyrian
hangings, Ephesian pictures, Corinthian plate, Attalic gar
ments, ivory tables, gold dishes, pheasants from the river
Phasis, and oysters from Circeii ; to the tribes and centu
ries, the method of voting, the lictors, the fasces, rods,
and axes ; to the Tiber, the seven hills of Rome, Lucrine

1 See pp. xviff.

2 2. 128 — 29 : Rome's poore age, when . . . her . . . Consuls held
the plough.

Critical Estimates Ii

Lake, the Milvian Bridge, the Aurelian Way, the temples
of Jupiter Stator and Concord, the Alps, and the Tyrrhene
Sea. All of these are minutely accurate. So careful,
indeed, is Jonson, that he even observes the nice distinc
tions in Roman oaths.1 Only two slips can be found in
his scholarship : the references to hell, in i. 553, and to
Catiline's candidacy for command in the Pontic war,
in i. 90.

This list of instances is totally independent of the
scores of quotations, direct or indirect, imbedded in the
play. The sum total of all these leaves very little that
is Jonson 's own. Now Jonson 's genius was sufficient
to fuse these various elements in a way impossible for
one of mediocre talent, but the complete fulfilling of the
task was too much even for him. It would seem that
an excessive attention to details inevitably leads to a
loss of proper perspective, to a failure to see the forest
by reason of the trees. After all, the main object of a
play is to be dramatic, to unfold human character in
action ; and, more than that, to suggest behind each
individual character something of the universal : to
reveal, in fine, the macrocosm in the microcosm. This
is true no less of historical drama than of other forms.
The main object is not so much to give accurate history
or accurate pictures of social life, as to interpret human
traits, emotions, and activities, which in all environ
ments are much the same. Indeed, it may be held that
the more local color is gained, the more a serious play
loses in force. If we feel that the personages of the play
move in a world too utterly unlike our own, under con
ditions which can never be duplicated in our own lives,
the appeal of the drama is either lost or greatly weakened.
This is especially true in tragedy, for the element of

1 See 2. 282 ff., and note.

da

lii Introduction

fear or terror that Aristotle regards as fundamental,
can only enter in when we feel that the hero's plight
might be our own. It is because of this that the Greek
tragedy, stirring as those who understand the Greek
conception of life find it, can rarely be successfully
staged today, inasmuch as its underlying theory of fate
is totally foreign to modern ethical doctrine. Agamem
non, as presented at the Sanders Theatre, Harvard, was
successful, but its audience was elect. The same may
be said of the recent performances of The Trojan Women
by the Chicago Little Theater Company and others.

What I have said above about undue attention to
detail is really, it seems to me, fundamental, and may be
illustrated by reference to various phases of art. Take
painting as an example. A painter whose methods very
closely parallel those of Jonson was Meissonier. For
his 1807, for instance, he bought a wheat -field, and had
a company of cuirassiers ride through it, so that he
might see how such a field would actually appear; he
himself riding beside the troopers, and carefully noting
the attitudes of men and horses. For the 1814 he dupli
cated one of Napoleon's costumes to the last button.
And what was the result ? Speaking of Meissonier's
historical paintings, Kenyon Cox says1: 'The best of
these ambitions works is perhaps the 1814. The worst
is certainly the 1807. This picture is almost an entire
failure, and yet it possesses every one of the qualities
which made Meissonier's greatness, in as high a degree
as any earlier work. The industry, the strenuous exact
ness, the thoroughness, the impeccable draughtsman
ship, the sharpness of relief, are all here at their great
est. The amount of labor that the picture represents
is simply appalling, and it is almost all wasted, because

1 In the Nation for Dec. 24, 1896.

Critical Estimates liii

it is not the kind of labor that was wanted. On all of
these figures not a gaiter button is wanting, and the
total result of all this addition of detail is simply chaos.'
Mr. Cox says further : ' Looked at close at hand, each
head, each hand, each strap and buckle is masterly, but,
at a distance sufficiently great to permit the whole
canvas to be taken in at one glance, nothing is seen but
a meaningless glitter. . . . He awakens only admiration,
never emotion. His drawing is absolute, his relief
startling, he almost gives the illusion of nature ; but he
never evokes a vision of beauty or charms one into a
dream/ In his anxiety to be accurate, the artist missed
the effect. The rush, the bustle, the joyous triumph that
the i8oj was designed to bring out, are lacking. The
very art that makes The Vedette and The Reader in White
masterpieces of their kind, here defeats its own end.
A camera can give us mere accuracy ; we demand of the
artist interpretation.

If any further illustrations be required in this field,
the most cursory comparisons of Tissot's treatment of
the Gospel narrative with that of other painters will
suffice. Tissot, like Meissonier, is at all times precise
and accurate. His costumes are authentic (or as nearly
so as he could make them) ; his Temple, as he tells us
in the introduction to his work, follows the restoration of
the architect Schieck (sic) ; his Golgotha is the proper
twenty-two feet high. But compare his work with that
of older artists. When we admire the mighty Christ
on the Cross of Diirer, we never think of its inaccuracies,
such as the birch trees in the back ground, the rounded
timbers of the cross, the conventional INRI of the
inscription. The majestic dignity, the almost unbearable
pathos of the lonely Christ, are what thrill us. We feel
here the essential mystery of our faith. Tissot's treat
ment in It Is Finished is in marked contrast. Here we

liv Introduction

have accurate realism : the rectangular timbers of the
rood, the full inscription in Hebrew and Latin, the proper
costuming, and a Christ so gory that the picture reeks of
the shambles. Not even the intended touch of idealism
and symbolism in the group of prophets above (each in
eminently correct Jewish dress), with their folded scrolls
betokening the fulfilment of prophecy, and the Solo
mon's seal, can relieve the ghastly effect. Other painters,
more naive, have committed quaint anachronisms, as
Bellini, in representing the Madonna with the Magdalen
and St. Catherine, St. Peter with a book, St. Jerome,
and an angel with a very mediaeval viol, together in his
altar-piece for the church of San Zaccaria ; Botticelli, in
representing the Medici, in his Adoration of the Magi,
with pages and others standing about in costumes of the
painter's own times ; and da Vinci, in having the guests
sitting at the table, instead of reclining, in his Last
Supper : but compare these works with the corresponding
paintings of Tissot, and it will at once be observed how
immeasurably the later artist, in his quest for correctness,
has sacrificed spiritual significance. And, after all,
it is this significance that is really vital.

If we turn to a field so completely in the realm of
pure aesthetics as music, we shall find this same principle
as to local color obtaining. To cite a modern instance,
the late Edward MacDowell composed an Indian Suite.
For the sake of atmosphere, he made a partial use of
Indian music. Speaking of this Suite, Professor Elson
says1 : ' He has built this orchestral work .on actual
Indian themes, but we do not value this proceeding,
since the figures used are utterly unfamiliar to almost
every auditor. . . . But the development and the treat
ment of these figures is another story.' That is to say,

1 History of American Music, p. 185.

Critical Estimates lv

MacDowell succeeds not in proportion as he uses the
Indian themes, but in proportion as he gets away from
them. The thing he must do, to be successful, is to
interpret to us the Indian, to make us feel his primitive
dignity, the vastness of the woods and prairies that he
roamed, the pathos of his passing. Now Indian themes
will never make us feel these things, because we respond
to totally different stimuli from the Indian, and the
very music that is most soulful to him is to us largely a
harsh and meaningless noise. The musician must speak
to us in terms of our own, if he would have us comprehend
him. No one who has heard the third movement of the
Indian Suite (the Dirge) can fail to recognize that Mac
Dowell has interpreted the Indian surpassingly well.
In that lament of the mother for her lost warrior-son,
we hear the wail of sorrow that is primitive and yet at
the same time typical of all sorrow — the same cry that
came from the wrung heart of Rachel, and that comes
from the wrung hearts of all who are bereaved and refuse
to be comforted. But it is not the Indian theme that
makes us feel this : it is the romanticization of that
theme (something quite foreign to the Indian), the
complex harmonic development of that theme.

Now the mission of Jonson as a dramatist was to
interpret to us character and life. All the tirades of
the conspirators against the decadence of Rome cannot
make us realize that decadence so vividly as does the
single incident of Catiline and the slave in the first act.
All the braggadocio of Cathegus about his bravery and
cruelty can not make us adequately realize his character ;
we must see him do something brave and cruel, or he
becomes a mere 'tongue-bully.' To have the conspira
tors quote Lucan's Pharsalia may give us an idea of the
horrors of internecine war, but it does not interpret the
conspirators to us, because the phrases, apt as they are,

Ivi Introduction

lack inevitableness. Too great an attention to detail
makes the whole suffer.

If we now turn to a brief survey of successful histor
ical plays, we may see the point in question even more
clearly. First let us consider Julius C&sar,1 like Catiline
a Roman drama. In this play, Shakspere followed but
one authority, North's Plutarch, using the lives of
Caesar, Antony, and Brutus. By following but this one
source — one remarkably adapted to dramatization —
Shakspere gains a unity of tone missed frequently in
Catiline. Moreover, Shakspere's interest throughout
is in the play and the characters, not in the setting and
atmosphere. The essential thing is not that Brutus
(the real hero) is a Roman, but that he is pathetically
mistaken in his theories and actions. The clash of ideas
and parties, the destiny of a nation, and the trembling
in the balance of the empire of the world — these are
the things that hold our imagination, and not the locale
of the piece. For details of setting, and the like, Shak
spere has scant use. Beyond what he found in Plutarch,
the allusions are few, and those few largely mistaken.
For example, he vaguely considers the Capitol as the
meeting -place of the senate ; 2 he has a clock strike in
Brutus' orchard (2. i. 192) ; he speaks of the watch, as
if the London custom were likewise a Roman one (2.2. 16).
But none of these things lessens the essential dramatic

1 For a fuller discussion of local color in Julius C&sar and Catiline,
see Meinck, Vber das Ortliche und Zeitliche Kolorit in Shakespeare's
Romerdramen und Ben Jonson's Catiline.

2 For a discussion of this point, noting the various passages, in
Coriolanus, etc., where Shakspere makes this error, see Lizette
Fisher, Shakespeare and the Capitol, Mod. Lang. Notes 27. lyyff.
From the stricture there made, however, that Jonson ' whisks the
Senate about to an extent which would seem to exaggerate the
facts,' I must dissent. Jonson had the authority of Cicero, 2 Cat. 6,
and Sallust, Cat. 46, for his meeting-places.

Critical Estimates Ivii

qualities of the play, or detracts from its interpretation
of the real historical essentials.

Let us likewise consider for a moment Racine's Athalie.
This play affords an interesting comparison with Catiline
in several ways. It is even more severely 'classical'
than Jonson's work ; and there is an essential similarity
in its catastrophe, in that the death of Athaliah, like that
of Catiline, is not of great moment, nor productive of
any great pathos. Now, in writing this play, Racine
very carefully read the authorities — he cites Josephus,
Menochius, Estius, and other commentators, in addi
tion to the Bible. But he at all times dominated his
sources, and never was dominated by them. He takes
a liberty with the age of Joash, for example, by making
him nine to ten years old, whereas the Scriptures place
his age at seven years. It is surprising, too, in view of
the Scriptural theme, how little actual quotation is
employed. There is a Biblical largeness of phrasing,
but it is the spirit rather than the letter that Racine
follows. The same is true in a less degree of Esther.
To cite another French example, Corneille's Cid is almost
romantic in its treatment of historical data.

An examination of Schiller's successful historical
plays will reveal the same freedom of treatment. In
Wallenstein's Tod he purposely violates historical truth,
as far as he knew it, in making Wallenstein conscious of
wrong purpose in his attitude toward the Emperor, and
penitent in regard to it, because he felt this sense of
guilt necessary to the play. In this play, Schiller shows
that he has digested his authorities, for scarcely a refe
rence is patent. His art is that of Milton, wherein
learning and investigation tincture the whole, but
seldom obtrude on the surface. The one part of Wallen
stein in which Schiller painstakingly strives for local
color is the Lager, which is scarcely a vital part of the

Iviii Introduction

drama at all. And it is significant that the Lager is the
least successful on the stage of the three parts of the
tragedy. In Maria Stuart, Schiller is even freer in his
use of materials, and in the Jungfrau von Orleans he
boldly alters history by inventing a new denouement.
At his strictest, Schiller is not a realist, but idealizes his
central characters, after the example set by Goethe in
Goetz von Berlichingen, without the Sturm und Drang
of the latter. It is noteworthy, in this connection, that
Hauptmann's recent attempt, in Florian Geyer, to treat
with realistic exactness a historical period, has been a
failure on the stage.

We may infer, then, that Jonson's method of pains
taking accuracy is in the main wrong, as tending to
place emphasis on the non-essential. However, this is
not the only fundamental fault in Jonson's work. There
would appear to be inherent in Catiline a certain miscon
ception of classicism, a ceitain tendency to construe the
classical restraint as calm. Indeed, we still hear rather
too much of the 'classical calm/ Now, of restraint there
is plenty in the Greek drama : but one would have to
search far to find calm in such plays as the Medea, the
Antigone, the Prometheus Unbound, or the terrific Electra.
Although the restrained treatment in these dramas is
impossible for us, because foreign to the Anglo-Saxon
genius, they yet have a terrible intensity. But Jonson
followed Seneca rather than the Greeks, and Seneca
is merely rhetorical. In the last analysis, Catiline is
also largely rhetorical,1 with too little action.

Further than this, it may be doubted whether any
attempt to reproduce a bygone age in its own literary
forms can succeed. The times change. What so stirred
men once, no longer moves. As I said in discussing Mac-

1 See Castelain's criticism in Ben Jonson, I'Homme et I'CEuvre,
pp. 594 «•

Critical Estimates lix

Do well, to interpret properly, the artist must speak in
our terms. Our dramatic terms are vastly different
from those of Sophocles and Seneca, and an interpretation
even of their times, or of their themes, must not follow
their methods too closely. Even Athalie is a little too
close to the Latin method to be successful on our stage.
Goethe's Iphigenie auf Tauris, which comes about as
near as may be to catching the classical atmosphere
(although the subjective treatment of the Furies is
modern), is a failure on the stage. The past may be
interpreted to us with a vast wealth of detail, but the
proper interpreter in this fashion is rather the novelist
than the dramatist. Thackeray in Henry Esmond, and
Sienkiewicz in Quo Vadis, for instance, have caught the
true atmosphere of the times they portray, but the form
they utilize is one quite distinct from the drama, and
free from its restrictions.

The remarkable thing about Catiline, then, is not that
Jonson failed, but that he did so well under the cir
cumstances.

A final word ought, perhaps, to be said about the
historical significance of Catiline and its companion-
piece, Sejanus. Such a word must of necessity be both
brief and guarded, for the evidences here are intan
gible and elusive. Nettleton,1 although possibly a
little over-zealous in his efforts to establish the auton
omy of the English drama in the Restoration and the
immediately succeeding period, has yet shown conclusive
ly the influence of Jonson on later comedy. Briggs,1 in
his article, Influence of Jonson on Seventeenth Century
Tragedy, has collected a number of interesting parallels
which indicate that Jonson 's contemporaries utilized

1 In English Drama of the Restoration, etc.

2 In Anglia 35. 277 ff.

Ix Introduction

freely either his works or his sources, to which he had
probably directed their notice. Briggs also calls atten
tion to the increasing Senecan elements in English trag
edy after the appearance of Jonson's tragedies, and to
the accumulation of plays on Roman themes. These
conclusions support forcibly the a priori notion that
all students of Jonson must have, as to his influence
on later drama. When we come to the ' classical ' period,
this a priori notion is further strengthened by the patent
evidence that Jonson's works were being read and
discussed. Dryden cited, in his Essay of Dramatick
Poesy, the rimes in Catiline and Sejanus as a justification
of his heroic couplets. Shad well, in the preface to his
Sullen Lovers, defended Jonsonian comedy against the
animadversions of Dryden and others, who had cried it
down as lacking in wit ; and again took up the cudgels
in the preface to his Humourists, and elsewhere. Vol
taire, who in his day was practically literary dictator for
both England and France, read and criticized Catiline,
and in his Catilina endeavored to ' improve ' upon Jonson's
handling of the theme. Then, too, Catiline was acted
at least up to 1691.

On the other hand, to offset these considerations, is
the stubborn fact that neither the manner nor the matter
of the 'classical' tragedy is Jonsonian. Cato and
Irene, to select examples of this tragedy at its height, are
at a far remove from the manner of Catiline or Sejanus.
But then, too, they are at a remove not much less from
the manner of Racine and Corneille. Indeed, in intrin
sic dramatic worth and force, Catiline is nearer Athalie
than is Cato. All of these plays are rhetorical, but in
Jonson and the French dramatist there is fire blazing
beneath, and through, the ice of the rhetoric, whereas
the English 'classical' tragedy is almost totally frigid.
The tone of the ' classical ' tragedy is, it would seem to me,

Critical Estimates

Ixi

due rather to the temper of the times than to French
influences. When we examine the matter of the Queen
Anne and Restoration tragedy, we find no Jonsonian
borrowings unmistakable enough to warrant definite
assertions.

In view of Jonson's undoubted weight of authority
and the fact that he endeavored, long before the ' classi
cal' school arose, to write tragedy on a strictly classical
theory ; and in view of the fact that the ' classical '
tragedies themselves resemble the French tragedies more
in accidentals than in essentials, I should hazard it as
my opinion that a 'classical' tragedy of some sort was,
in the course of a natural evolution, bound to appear in
England, and that, even without French models, it would
not have differed greatly in its methods and tone from
the tragedy that did appear. The French impetus
probably hastened its actual appearance, and gave it a
certain bias, but was hardly responsible for its coming
into being.

E. EDITOR'S NOTE

The following list of abbreviations obtains in the
footnotes to the text :

Fi = Yale Library copy of the 1616 Folio.

F2 = Yale Elizabethan Club copy of the 1616 Folio.

Qi = First Quarto.

Q2 = Second Quarto.

Q3 = Third Quarto.

1640 = 1640 Folio.

1692 = 1692 Folio.

1716 = Booksellers' edition of 1716.

W = Peter Whalley's edition.

G = Gifford's edition.

C — G = Cunningham-Gifford edition.

S. D. = Stage-direction ; S. N. = Side-note.

In the collations I have endeavored throughout to
avoid the irrelevant. Mere changes of spelling I have
omitted, and changes of punctuation I have only admitted
when they entail a real change in meaning. A few ob
vious misprints in the Folio text have been corrected.

CATILINE

HIS

CONSPIRACY-

Tragcedic-,.

Adled in the ycerc 1611. By the
Kings MAIESTIES
Seruants.

The Author B. I.

Ho*. AT.

' Hit nonflebecidA gat Jet:

Verum equttis (juoj, , tarn rnignutt *b aurc vtleft
O/nnis, td later tos cculoi, & giudi* via*.

LONDON,
Printed by WILLIAM STANSBT.

D C. XVI.

[681] TO THE GREAT EXAMPLE OF HONOR, AND
VERTVE, THE MOST NOBLE

WILLIAM,

EARLE OF PEMBROKE, LORD CHAMBERLAINE,

&c.

MY LORD,

In so thick, and darke an ignorance, as now almost
couers the age, I craue leaue to stand neare your light :
and, by that, to bee read. Posted tie may pay your
benefit the honor, & thanks : when it shall know, that
you dare, in these lig-giuen times, to countenance a
legitimate Poeme. I must call it so, against all noise 5
of opinion : from whose crude, and ayrie reports, I
appeale, to that great and singular faculty of iudgement
in your Lordship, able to vindicate truth from error.
It is the first (of this race) that euer I dedicated to any
person, and had I not thought it the best, it should haue «>
beene taught a lesse ambition. Now, it approcheth
your censure cheerefully, and with the same assurance,
that innocency would appeare before a magistrate.

Your Lo. most faithfull
honorer,

BEN. IONSON.

Dedication om. Q2.
7 that] the G.

[682]

The Persons of the Play.

SYLLA'S GHOST.

CATILINE.

LENTVLVS.

CETHEGVS.

CVRIVS.

AVTRONIVS.

VARGVNTEIVS.

LONGINVS.

LECCA.

FVLVIVS.

BESTIA.

GABINIVS.

STATILIVS.

CEPARIVS.

CORNELIVS.

VOLTVRTIVS.

AVRELIA.

FVLVIA.

SEMPRONIA.

GALLA.

CICERO.

ANTONIVS.

CATO.

CATVLVS.

CRASSVS.

CAESAR.

Qv. CICERO.

SYLLANVS.

FLACCVS.

POMTINIVS.

SANGA.

SENATORS.

ALLOBROGES.

PETREIVS.

SOVLDIERS.

PORTER.

LICTORS.

SERVANTS.

PAGES.

CHORVS.

THE SCENE

ROME.

The Persons of the Play] The Names of the Actors Qi, Qi.

ACT 1]

CATILINE. [688]

Act I.

SYLLA'S Ghost.

DOst thou not feele me, Rome ? not yet ? Is night
So heauy on thee, and my weight so light ?
Can SYLLA'S Ghost arise within thy walls,
Lesse threatning, then an earth-quake, the quick falls
Of thee, and thine ? shake not the frighted heads 5

Of thy steepe towers ? or shrinke to their first beds ?
Or, as their mine the large Tyber fills,
Make that swell vp, and drowne thy seuen proud hills ?
What sleepe is this doth seize thee, so like death,
And is not it ? Wake, feele her, in my breath : 10

Behold, I come, sent from the Stygian sound,
As a dire vapor, that had cleft the ground,
T'ingender with the night and blast the day;
Or like a pestilence, that should display
Infection through the world : which, thus, I doe. 15

PLVTO be at thy councells ; and into C*M£'

Thy darker bosome enter SYLLA'S spirit : his stud,

All, that was mine, and bad, thy brest inherit.
Alas, how weake is that, for CATILINE !
Did I but say (vaine voice !) all that was mine ?
All, that the GRACCHI, CINNA, MARIVS would;
What now, had I a body againe, I could,

ACT I. SCENE I. A Room in Catiline's House.

The Ghost of Sylla rises. S. D. — G.

1 6 [The curtain draws, and Catiline is discovered in his study.]
S. N.-G.

8 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT I

[684] Comming from hell ; what Fiends would wish should be ;
And HANNIBAL could not haue wish'd to see :

2s Thinke thou, and practice. Let the long-hid seeds
Of treason, in thee, now shoot forth in deeds,
Ranker then horror; and thy former facts
Not fall in mention, but to vrge new acts :
Conscience of them prouoke thee on to more.

3° Be still thy incests, murders, rapes before
Thy sense; thy forcing first a Vestall nunne;
Thy parricide, late, on thine owne onely sonne,
After his mother; to make emptie way
For thy last wicked nuptialls ; worse, then they,

35 That blaze that act of thy incestuous life,
Which got thee, at once, a daughter, and a wife.
I leaue the slaughters that thou didst for me,
Of Senators', for which, I hid for thee
Thy murder of thy brother, (being so brib'd)

<° And writ him in the list of my proscrib'd
After thy fact, to saue thy little shame :
Thy incest, with thy sister, I not name.
These are too light. Fate will haue thee pursue
Deedes, after which, no mischiefe can be new;
The ruine of thy countrey : thou wert built
For such a worke, and borne for no lesse guilt.
What though defeated once th'hast beene, and knowne,
Tempt it againe : That is thy act, or none.
What all the seuerall ills, that visite earth,

s° (Brought forth by night, with a sinister birth)
Plagues, famine, fire could not reach vnto,
The sword, nor surfets ; let thy furie doe :
Make all past, present, future ill thine owne;

32 thine owne onely sonne] thy own only son 1640, 1692, 1716.
W; thine owne naturall son Qi, Q2. 35 blaze] fame Q2.

47 though] thou Q2.

ACT I]

Catiline his Conspiracy

And conquer all example, in thy one.

Nor let thy thought find any vacant time 55

To hate an old, but still a fresher crime

Drowne the remembrance : let not mischiefe cease,

But, while it is in punishing, encrease.

Conscience, and care die in thee ; and be free

Not heau'n it selfe from thy impietie : 60

Let night grow blacker with thy plots ; and day,

At shewing but thy head forth, start away

From this halfe-spheare : and leaue Romes blinded walls

T'embrace lusts, hatreds, slaughters, funeralls,

And not recouer sight, till their owne flames 6s

Doe light them to their ruines. All the names

Of thy confederates, too, be no lesse great [685]

In hell, then here : that, when we would repeat

Our strengths in muster, we may name you all,

And Furies, vpon you, for Furies call. 70

Whilst, what you doe, may strike them into feares,

Or make them grieue, and wish your mischiefe theirs.

CATILINE.

IT is decree'd. Nor shall thy Fate, 6 Rome,
Resist my vow. Though hills were set on hills,
And seas met seas, to guard thee ; I would through :
I, plough vp rocks, steepe as the Alpes, in dust;
And laue the Tyrrhene waters, into clouds;
But I would reach thy head, thy head, proud citie.
The ills, that I haue done, cannot be safe
But by attempting greater; and I feele
A spirit, within me, chides my sluggish hands,
And sayes, they haue beene innocent too long.

71 may] doth Qi, Cj2. 72 [Sinks. S. N. — G. CATI

LINE rises, and comes forward. S. D. — G. 76 I,] I 1692;

I'd 1716, W.

75

io Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT I

Was I a man, bred great, as Rome her selfe ?
One, form'd for all her honors, all her glories ?

8s Equall to all her titles ? that could stand
Close vp, with ATLAS ; and sustaine her name
As strong, as he doth heau'n ? And, was I
Of all her brood, mark'd out for the repulse
By her no voice, when I stood Candidate,

j>° To be commander in the Pontick warre ?

'. I will, hereafter, call her step-dame, euer.

j If shee can loose her nature, I can loose

1 My pietie ; and in her stony entrailes
Dig me a seate : where, I will liue, againe,

95 The labour of her wombe, and be a burden,
Weightier then all the prodigies, and monsters,
That shee hath teem'd with, since shee first knew MARS.

CATILINE, AVRELIA.

WHo's there? AVR. Tisl. CAT. AVRELIA?
AYR. Yes. CAT. Appeare,
And breake, like day, my beautie, to this circle :
ioo Vpbraid thy Phoebus, that he is so long

In mounting to that point, which should giue thee
Thy proper splendor. Wherefore frownes my sweet ?
Haue I too long beene absent from these lips,
them.) j^ cheeke^ these eyes ? What is my trespasse ? speake.
I05 AVR. It seemes, you know, that can accuse your

selfe.
[686] CAT. I will redeeme it. AVR. Still, you say so.

When?

CAT. When ORESTILLA, by her bearing well
These my retirements, and stolne times for thought,
Shall giue their effects leaue to call her Queene

Enter AURELIA ORESTILLA. S. D. — G. 97 That] What Q2.
98 Appeare] Qi wrongly assigns this speech to AVR. 104 [Kisses
them.] inserted by G. after eyes ?

ACT I]

Catiline his Conspiracy

ii

Of all the world, in place of humbled Rome.
AVR. You court me, now. CAT. As I would

alwayes, Loue,

By this ambrosiack kisse, and this of nectar,
Wouldst thou but heare as gladly, as I speake.
Could my AVRELIA thinke, I meant her lesse;
When, wooing her, I first remou'd a wife,
And then a sonne, to make my bed, and house
Spatious, and fit t 'embrace her ? These were deeds
Not t'haue begun with, but to end with more,
And greater: "He that, building, stayes at one
"Floore, or the second, hath erected none.
'Twas how to raise thee, I was meditating;
To make some act of mine answere thy loue :
That loue, that, when my state was now quite sunke,
Came with thy wealth, and weigh 'd it vp againe,
And made my 'emergent-fortune once more looke
Aboue the maine ; which, now, shall hit the starres,
And stick my ORESTILLA, there, amongst 'hem,
If any tempest can but make the billow,
And any billow can but lift her greatnesse.
But, I must pray my loue, shee will put on
Like habites with my selfe. I haue to doe
With many men, and many natures. Some,
That must be blowne, and sooth'd ; as LENTVLVS,
Whom I haue heau'd, with magnifying his bloud,
And a vaine dreame, out of the SYBILL'S bookes,
That a third man, of that great family,
Whereof he is descended, the CORNELII,
Should be a king in Rome : which I haue hir'd
The flattering AVGVRES to interpret him,
CINNA, and SYLLA dead. Then, bold CETHEGVS,
Whose valour I haue turn'd into his poyson,

"5

195

130

«35

126 maine] waine Q2.

12 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT I

And prais'd so into daring, as he would
Goe on vpon the gods, kisse lightning, wrest
The engine from the CYCLOP' S, and giue fire

'45 At face of a full cloud, and stand his ire :

When I would bid him moue. Others there are,
Whom enuy to the state drawes, and puts on,
For contumelies receiu'd, (and such are sure ones)
As CVRIVS, and the fore-nam'd LENTVLVS,

'50 Both which haue beene degraded, in the Senate,

[687] And must haue their disgraces, still, new rub'd,

To make 'hem smart, and labour of reuenge.

Others, whom meere ambition fires, and dole

Of prouinces abroad, which they haue fain'd

xss To their crude hopes, and I as amply promised :
These, LECCA, VARGVNTEIVS, BESTIA, AVTRO-

NIVS.

Some, whom their wants oppresse, as th' idle Captaynes
Of SYLLA'S troops : and diuers Roman Knights
(The profuse wasters of their patrimonies)

160 So threatned with their debts as they will, now,
Runne any desperate fortune, for a change.
These, for a time, we must relieue, AVRELIA,
And make our house the safe-guard : like, for those,
That feare the law, or stand within her gripe,

l6s For any act past, or to come. Such will

From their owne crimes, be factious, as from ours.
Some more there be, slight ayrelings, will be wonne,
With dogs, and horses ; or, perhaps, a whore ;
Which must be had : and, if they venter Hues,

'70 For vs, AVRELIA, we must hazard honors
A little. Get thee store, and change of women,
As I haue boyes; and giue 'hem time, and place,
And all conniuence : be thy selfe, too, courtly ;

147 on] one Q2. 163 the] their Qi. safe-guard] saue-gard Qi.

ACT I] Catiline his Conspiracy 13

And entertayne, and feast, sit vp, and reuell ;
Call all the great, the faire, and spirited Dames
Of Rome about thee ; and beginne a fashion
Of freedome, and community. Some will thanke thee,
Though the sowre Senate frowne, whose heads must ake
In feare, and feeling too. We must not spare
Or cost, or modestie. It can but shew
Like one of IVNO'S or of lOVE'S disguises,
In either thee, or mee : and will as soone,
When things succeed, be throwne by, or let fall,
As is a vaile put off, a visor chang'd,
Or the scene shifted, in our theatres— **s

Who's that ? It is the voyce of LENTVLVS.
AVR. Or of CETHEGVS. CAT. In, my faire

AVRELIA,

And thinke vpon these arts. They must not see,
How farre you are trusted with these priuacies ;
Though, on their shoulders, necks, and heads you rise. 190

LENTVLVS, CETHEGVS, [688]

CATILINE.

IT is, me thinks, a morning, full of fate !
It riseth slowly, as her sollen carre
Had all the weights of sleepe, and death hung at it !
She is not rosy-finger'd, but swolne black !
Her face is like a water, turn'd to bloud, 195

And her sick head is bound about with clouds,
As if shee threatned night, ere noone of day!
It does not looke, as it would haue a haile,
Or health, wish'd in it, as on other mornes.
CET. Why, all the fitter, LENTVLVS : our comming *<*>

185 [Noise within. S. N. — G. Qi, Q2 om. direction. 189 you
are] you're— G. 190 [exit Aurelia. S. N. — G.

Enter LENTULUS, in discourse with CETHKGUS. S. D. — G.

14 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT I

Is not for salutation, we haue business.

CAT. Said nobly, braue CETHEGVS. Where's AV-

TRONIVS ?
CAT. Is he not come? CAT. Not here. CET.

Nor VARGVNTEIVS ?
CAT. Neither. CET. A fire in their beds, and

bosomes,

2°s That so will serue their sloth, rather then vertue.
They are no Romanes, and at such high need
As now. LEN. Both they, LONGINVS, LECCA,

CVRIVS,

FVLVIVS, GABINIVS, gaue me word, last night,
By LVCIVS BESTIA, they would all be here,
«o And early. CET. Yes ? As you, had I not call'd you.
Come, we all sleepe, and are meere dormice; flies,
A little lesse then dead : more dulnesse hangs
On vs, then on the morne. Ware spirit-bound,
In ribs of ice ; our whole blouds are one stone ;
«s And honor cannot thaw vs ; nor our wants :
Though they burne, hot as feuers, to our states.

CAT. I muse they would be tardy, at an houre
Of so great purpose. CET. If the gods had call'd
Them, to a purpose, they would iust have come
220 With the same tortoyse speed ! that are thus slow
To such an action, which the gods will enuy :
As asking no lesse meanes, then all their powers
Conioyn'd, t'effect. I would haue seene Rome burn't,
By this time ; and her ashes in an vrne :
«5 The kingdome of the Senate, rent a-sunder ;

And the degenerate, talking gowne runne frighted,
Out of the aire of Italie. CAT. Spirit of men !
Thou, heart of our great enterprise ! how much

201 salutation] salvation Q2. 202 nobly] noble Q2. 203 Not
here] Nor here 1716. 210 early] yearly Q3.

ACT I]

Catiline his Conspiracy

I loue these voices in thee ! CET. O, the dayes
Of SYLLA'S sway, when the free sword tooke leaue >3«
To act all that it would ! CAT. And was familiar
With entrailes, as our Augur es ! CET. Sonnes kild

fathers,
Brothers their brothers. CAT. And had price, and [689]

praise.
All hate had licence giuen it : all rage raines.

CET. Slaughter bestrid the streets, and stretch 'd »as

himselfe

To seeme more huge; whilst to his stayned thighes
The gore he drew flow'd vp : and carryed downe
Whole heaps of limmes, and bodies, through his arch.
No age was spar'd, no sexe. CAT. Nay, no degree.

CET. Not infants, in the porch of life were free. **<>
The sick, the old, that could but hope a day
Longer, by natures bountie, not let stay.
Virgins, and widdowes, matrons, pregnant wiues,
All dyed. CAT. 'Twas crime inough, that they had

Hues.

To strike but onely those, that could doe hurt, »45

Was dull, and poore. Some fell to make the number,
As some the prey. CET. The rugged CHARON

fainted,

And ask'd a nauy, rather then a boate,
To ferry ouer the sad world that came :
The mawes, and dens of beasts could not receiue as«

The bodies, that those soules were frighted from ;
And e'en the graues were fild with men, yet Huing,
Whose flight, and feare had mix'd them, with the dead.
CAT. And this shall be againe, and more, and more,
Now LENTVLVS, the third CORNELIVS, *ss

Is to stand vp in Rome. LEN. Nay, vrge not that

232 Auguresl] Augures ? Q3- 234 raines] reign'd 1692, 1716.

16 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT I

Is so vncertaine. CAT. How! LEN. I meane, not

clear 'd.
And, therefore, not to be reflected on.

CAT. The SYBILL'S leaues vncertayne ? or the

comments
260 Of our graue, deepe, draining men not cleare ?

LEN. All prophecies, you know, suffer the torture.
CAT. But this, already, hath confessed, without.
And so beene weigh'd, examin'd, and compared,
As 'twere malicious ignorance in him,
26s Would faint in the belief e. LEN. Doe you beleeue it ?
CAT. Doe I loue LENTVLVS ? or pray to see it ?
LEN. The Augur es all are constant, I am meant.
CAT. They had lost their science else. LEN. They

count from CINNA.

CAT. And SYLLA next, and so make you the third ;
»>° All that can say the sunne is ris'n, must thinke it.
LEN. Men marke me more, of late, as I come forth !
CAT. Why, what can they doe lesse ? CINNA, and

SYLLA

Are set, and gone : and we must turn our eyes
On him that is, and shines. Noble CETHEGVS,
*75 But view him with me, here ! He lookes, already,
As if he shooke a scepter, o're the Senate,
And the aw'd purple dropt their rods, and axes !
[690] The statues melt againe ; and houshold gods
In grones confesse the trauaile of the citie;
280 The very walls sweat bloud before the change ;
And stones start out to ruine, ere it comes.
CET. But he, and we, and all are idle still.
LEN. I am your creature, SERGIVS : And what ere
The great CORNELIAN name shall winne to be,
28s It is not Augury, nor the SYBILS bookes,

271 Men] om. Q2.

ACT I] Catiline his Conspiracy 17

But CATILINE that makes it. CAT. I am shaddow
To honor'd LENTVLVS, and CETHEGVS here.
Who are the heires of MARS. CET. By MARS

himselfe,

CATILINE is more my parent : for whose vertue
Earth cannot make a shaddow great inough, »9<>

Though enuy should come too. O, there they 'are. [690]
Now we shall talke more, though we yet doe nothing.

AVTRONIVS, VARGVNTEIVS, LONGINVS,
CVRIVS, LECCA, BESTIA, FVLVIVS,

GABINIVS, &C. To them.

HAile LVCIVS CATILINE. VAR. Haile noble
SERGIVS.
LON. Haile PVB : LENTVL'. CVR. Haile the

third CORNELF.
LEC. CAIVS CETHEGVS haile. CET. Haile sloth, .95

and words,
In steed of men and spirits. CAT. Nay, deare

CAIVS-
CET. Are your eyes yet vnseel'd ? Dare they looke

day

In the dull face ? CAT. Hee's zealous, for the 'affaire,
And blames your tardy comming, gentlemen.

CET. Vnlesse, we had sold our selues to sleepe, and 300
ease,

And would be our slaues slaues CAT. Pray you

forbeare.

CET. The north is not so starke, and cold. CAT.
CETHEGVS-

291 [Noise within.] S. N. — G. Enter AUTRONIUS, VARGUN-

TEIUS, LONGINUS, CURIUS, LECCA, BESTIA, FULVIUS, GABINIUS,

&c. and Servants. S. D. — G. 297 CET.] GET. Fi. F2.

298 dull] full 1716, W.

1 8 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT I

BES. We shall redeeme all, if your fire will let vs.
CAT. You are too full of lightning, noble CATVS.
305 Boy, see all doores be shut, that none approch vs,
On this part of the house. Goe you, and bid
The Priest, he kill the slaue I mark'd last night;
And bring me of his bloud, when I shall call him:
Till then, wait all without. VAR. How is't, AVTRO-

NIVS!
3x0 AVT. LONGINVS? LON. CVRIVS ? CVR.

LECCA ? VAR. Feele you nothing ?
LON. A strange, vn-wonted horror doth inuade me,
A darknessc I know not what it is ! LEG. The day goes back,
comes oner Q d ^szs \ CVR. As at ATREVS feast !

the place.

FVL. Darkenesse growes more, and more ! LEN.
A grone of The vestall flame,

™ZdvndeA thinke, be out. GAB. What grone was that ? CET.
ground. Our phant'sies

Strike fire, out of our selues, and force a day.
AVR. Againe it sounds! BES. As all the citie

Another.

gaue it !
[691] CET. We feare what our selues faine. VAR. What

A fiery light light is this ?

CVR. Looke forth. LEN. It still growes greater !

LEG. From whence comes it ?
330 LON. A bloudy arme it is, that holds a pine
Lighted, aboue the Capitoll \ and, now,
It waues vnto vs ! CAT. Braue, and omenous !
Our enterprise is seal'd. CET. In spight of darkeness,
That would discountenance it. Looke no more;
325 We loose time, and our selues. To what we came for,

303 we shall] shall we Q2. 306 [Exit Servant.] S. N. — G.

309 [Exeunt Servants.] S. N. — G. The marginal notes of Fi

and Fa, Qi and Q2 om. G. prints all marginal notes as side-
notes.

ACT I] Catiline his Conspiracy 19

Speake LVCIVS, we attend you. CAT. Noblest Ro
manes,

If you were lesse, or that your faith, and vertue
Did not hold good that title, with your bloud,
I should not, now, vnprofitably spend
My selfe in words, or catch at empty hopes, 330

By ayrie wayes, for solide certainties.
But since in many, and the greatest dangers,
I still haue known you no lesse true, then valiant,
And that I tast, in you, the same affections,
To will, or will, to thinke things good, or bad, 335

Alike with me : (which argues your firme friendship)
I dare the boldlier with you, set on foot,
Or leade, vnto this great, and goodliest action.
What I haue thought of it afore, you all
Haue heard apart. I then express 'd my zeale 340

Vnto the glorie ; now, the neede enflames me :
When I fore-thinke the hard conditions,
Our states must vnder-goe, except, in time,
We doe redeeme our selues to libertie,
And break the yron yoke, forg'd for our necks. MS

For, what lesse can we call it ? When we see
The common- wealth engross 'd so by a few,
The giants of the state, that doe, by turnes,
Enioy her, and defile her ! All the earth,
Her Kings, and Tetrarchs, are their tributaries ; 350

People, and nations, pay them hourely stipends :
The riches of the world flowes to their coffers,
And not, to Romes. While (but those few) the rest,
How euer great we are, honest, and valiant,
Are hearded with the vulgar ; and so kept, 355

As we were onely bred, to consume come ;
Or weare out wooll; to drinke the cities water;

340 apart] a part 1640, 1692. 353 the rest] om. Q3.
357 out] our 1640, 1692, Q3, 1716.

B

2O Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT I

Vngrac'd, without authoritie, or marke;
Trembling beneath their rods : to whom, (if all

36o "Were well in Rome) we should come forth bright axes.
All places, honors, offices are theirs !
Or where they will conferre 'hem ! They leaue vs
[692] The dangers, the repulses, iudgements, wants :

Which how long will you beare, most valiant spirits ?

365 Were we not better to fall, once, with vertue,
Then draw a wretched, and dishonored breath,
To loose with shame, when these mens pride will laugh ?
I call the faith of gods, and men to question,
The power is in our hands ; our bodies able ;

370 Our mindes as strong ; o' th' contrary, in them,

All things growne aged, with their wealth, and yeeres :
There wants, but onely to beginne the businesse,
The issue is certaine. GET. LON. On, let vs goe on.
CVR. BES. Goe on, braue SERGIVS. CAT. It
doth strike my soule,

375 (And, who can scape the stroke, that hath a soule,
Or, but the smallest aire of man within him ?)
To see them swell with treasure ; which they powre
Out i' their riots, eating, drinking, building,
I, i' the sea ! planing of hills with valleyes ;

380 And raysing vallies aboue hills ! whilst we

Haue not, to giue our bodies necessaries.
ft They ha' their change of houses, manners, lordships :
We scarce a fire, or poore houshold Lar !
They buy rare Atticke statues, Tyrian hangings,

385 Ephesian pictures, and Corinthian plate,

Attalicke garments, and now, new-found gemmes,
Since POMPEY went for Asia, which they purchase
At price of prouinces ! The riuer Phasis

373 GET. LON. On, let vs goe on] LON. On. GET. Let us
go on. W. 383 or poore] or a poor 1692, 1716, W, G.

ACT I]

Catiline his Conspiracy

21

390

395

Cannot affoord 'hem fowle ; nor Lucrine lake

Oysters enow : Circei, too, is search 'd

To please the witty gluttony of a meale !

Their ancient habitations they neglect,

And set vp new; then, if the eccho like not

In such a roome, they pluck downe those, build newer,

Alter them too : and, by all frantick wayes,

Vexe their wild wealth, as they molest the people,

From whom they force it ! yet, they cannot tame,

Or ouer-come their riches ! Not, by making

Bathes, orchards, fish-pooles ! letting in of seas

Here ! and, then there, forcing 'hem out againe, 400

With mount aynous heaps, for which the earth hath lost

Most of her ribs, as entrailes ! being now

Wounded no lesse for marble, then for gold.

We, all this while, 'like calme, benum'd Spectators,

Sit, till our seates doe cracke; and doe not heare

The thundring mines : whilst, at home, our wants,

Abroad, our debts doe vrge vs ; our states daily

Bending to bad, our hopes to worse : and, what

Is left, but to be crush'd ? Wake, wake braue friends,

And meet the libertie you oft haue wish'd for.

Behold, renowne, riches, and glory court you.

Fortune holds out these to you, as rewards.

Me thinkes (though I were dumbe) th' affaire it selfe

The opportunity, your needs, and dangers,

With the braue spoile the warre brings, should inuite you. 415

Vse me your generall, or souldier : neither,

My minde, nor body shall be wanting to you.

And, being Consul, I not doubt t' effect,

All that you wish, if trust not flatter me,

And you'd not rather still be slaues, then free.

405

[698]

410

420

390 Circei] Circes 1640, 1692; Circe's 1716.
you had Qi, Q2.

B2

420 you'd not]

22 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT I

GET. Free, free. LON. 'Tis freedom. CVR.

Freedom we all stand for.
CAT. Why, these are noble voyces! Nothing wants

then,

But that we take a solemne sacrament,
To strengthen our designe. GET. And so to act it.
4*5 Differring hurts, where powers are so prepared.

AVT. Yet, ere we enter into open act,
(With favour) 'twere no losse, if 't might be enquir'd,
What the condition of these armes would be ?

VAR. I, and the meanes, to carry vs through ?

CAT. How, friends!

430 Thinke you, that I would bid you, graspe the winde ?
Or call you to th' embracing of a cloud ?
Put your knowne valures on so deare a businesse,
And haue no other second then the danger,
Nor other gyrlond then the losse ? Become
435 Your owne assurances. And, for the meanes,
Consider, first, the starke securitie
The common wealth is in now; the whole Senate
Sleepy, and dreaming no such violent blow;
Their forces all abroad ; of which the greatest,
440 That might annoy vs most, is fardest off,
In Asia, vnder POMPEY : those, neare hand,
Commanded, by our friends ; one army' in Spaine,
By CNEVS PISO ; th' other in Mauritania,
By NVCERINVS ; both which I haue firme,
445 And fast vnto our plot. My selfe, then, standing
Now to be Consul', with my hop'd Colleague
CAIVS ANTONIVS ; one, no lesse engag'd
By 'his wants then we : and, whom I 'haue power to melt,
And cast in any mould. Beside, some others
450 That will not yet be nam'd, (both sure, and great ones)

425 so] most, Qi, Q2, G. 432 valures] valours Q2, 1716, W, G.

ACT IJ

Catiline his Conspiracy

Who, when the time comes, shall declare themselves,

Strong, for our party : so, that no resistance

In nature can be thought. For our reward, then, [694]

First, all our debts are paid ; dangers of law,

Actions, decrees, iudgments against vs quitted ; 455

The rich men, as in SYLLA'S times, proscrib'd,

And publication made of all their goods ;

That house is yours ; that land is his ; those waters,

Orchards, and walkes a third's ; he' has that honor,

And he that office : Such a prouince falls 460

To VARGVNTEIVS : this to AVTRONIVS : that

To bold CETHEGVS : Rome to LENTVLVS.

You share the world, her magistracies, priest-hoods,

Wealth, and felicitie amongst you, friends ;

And CATILINE your seruant. Would you, CVRIVS, 465

Reuenge the contumely stuck vpon you,

In being remoued from the Senate ? Now,

Now, is your time. Would PVBLIVS LENTVLVS

Strike, for the like disgrace ? Now, is his time.

Would stout LONGINVS walke the streets of Rome, 470

Facing the Praetor ? Now, has he a time

To spume, and tread the fasces, into dirt,

Made of the vsurers, and the Lictors braines.

Is there a beautie, here in Rome, you loue ?

An enemie you would kill ? What head's not yours ? 475

Whose wife, which boy, whose daughter, of what race,

That th'husband, or glad parents shall not bring you,

And boasting of the office ? only, spare

Your selues, and you haue all the earth beside,

A field, to exercise your longings in. 480

I see you rais'd, and reade your forward rnindes

High, in your faces. Bring the wine, and bloud

456 proscrib'd] prescribed Q2.

482 in] i' Qi, Q2.

24 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT I

You haue prepar'd there. LON. How! CAT. I'haue

kill'd a slaue,
And of his bloud caus'd to be mixd with wine.

*85 Fill euery man his bowle. There cannot be
A fitter drinke, to make this sanction in.
Here, I beginne the sacrament to all.
O, for a clap of thunder, now, as loud,
As to be heard through-out the vniuerse,

49° To tell the world the fact, and to applaud it.
Be firme, my hand ; not shed a drop : but powre
Fiercenesse into me, with it, and fell thirst
Of more, and more, till Rome be left as bloud-lesse,
As euer her feares made her, or the sword.

495 And, when I leaue to wish this to thee, step-dame,

Or stop, to effect it, with my powers fainting ;
[695] So may my bloud be drawne, and so drunke vp
(They As is this siaues. LON. And so be mine. LEN.

drinke.)

And mine.
AVT. And mine. VAR. And mine. GET. Swell

mee my bowle yet fuller.

soo Here, I doe drinke this, as I would doe CATO'S,
Or the new fellow CICERO'S : with that vow
Which CATILINE hath giuen. CVR. So doe I.
LEC. And I. BES. And I. FVL. And I. GAB.

And all of vs.
CAT. Why, now's the business safe, and each man

strengthned.
. 505 Sirrah, what aile you ? PAG. Nothing. BES. Some-

He spies one J

what modest.

CAT- Slaue> I wi11 strike your soule out, with my foot,
Let me but find you againe with such a face :

483 Enter Servants with a bowl. S. D. — G. 498 [Drinks.

S. N.-G. 499 Swell] Crowne Qi, Q2. [They drink. S. N.-G.
502 [Drinks. S. N. — G. 503 [They drink. S. N. — G. Mar
ginal note om. G.

ACT I]

Catiline his Conspiracy

You whelp BES. Nay, LVCIVS. CAT. Are you

coying it,

When I command you to be free, and generall
To all ? BES. You'll be obseru'd. CAT. Arise, and 510

shew

But any least auersion i' your looke
To him that bourds you next, and your throat opens.

Noble confederates, thus farre is perfect.
Only your suffrages I will expect,

At the assembly for the choosing Consuls, s«s

And all the voyces you can make by friends
To my election. Then, let me worke out
Your fortunes, and mine owne. Meane while, all rest
Seal'd vp, and silent, as when rigid frosts
Haue bound vp brookes, and riuers, forc'd wild beasts s*o
Vnto their caues, and birds into the woods,
Clownes to their houses, and the countrey sleeps :
That, when the sodaine thaw comes, we may breake
Vpon 'hem like a deluge, bearing downe
Halfe Rome before vs, and inuade the rest s«s

With cryes, and noise able to wake the vrnes
Of those are dead, and make their ashes feare.
The horrors, that doe strike the world, should come
Loud, and vnlook'd for : till they strike, be dumbe.
CET. Oraculous SERGIVS ! LEN. God-like CAT- 530

ILINE !

CHORVS.

CAn nothing great, and at the height
Remaine so long ? but it's owne weight
Will mine it ? Or, is't blinde chance,
That still desires new states t'aduance,
And quit the old ? Else, why must Rome, 535

527 feare.] feare, Fi, F2.

530 [Exeunt. S. N.-G.

26

Catiline his Conspiracy

[ACT I

Be by it selfe ; now, ouer-come ?
Hath shee not foes inow of those,
Whom shee hath made such, and enclose
Her round about ? Or, are they none,

54° Except shee first become her owne ?
[696] O wretchednesse of greatest states,
To be obnoxious to these fates :
That cannot keepe, what they doe gaine;
And what they raise so ill sustaine !

545 Rome, now, is Mistris of the whole
World, sea, and land, to either pole;
And euen that fortune will destroy
The power that made it : shee doth ioy
So much in plentie, wealth, and ease,

550 As, now, th' excesse is her disease.

Shee builds in gold; and, to the starres;
As, if shee threatned heau'n with warres :
And seekes for hell, in quaries deepe,
Giuing the fiends, that there doe keepe,
A hope of day. Her women weare
The spoiles of nations, in an eare,
Chang 'd for the treasure of a shell;
And, in their loose attires, doe swell
More light then sailes, when all windes play .

560 Yet, are the men more loose then they !

More kemb'd, and bath'd, and rub'd, and trim'd,
More sleek'd, more soft, and slacker limm'd;
As prostitute : so much, that kinde
May seeke it selfe there, and not finde.

565 They eate on beds of silke, and gold;
At yuorie tables; or, wood sold
Dearer then it : and, leauing plate,
Doe drinke in stone of higher rate.

555

539 they] thy Q3.

568 Doe] To Q3.

ACT I]

Catiline his Conspiracy

27

They hunt all grounds ; and draw all seas ;
Foule euery brooke, and bush ; to please
Their wanton tasts : and, in request
Haue new, and rare things ; not the best !

Hence comes that wild, and vast expence,
That hath enforc'd Romes vertue, thence,
Which simple pouerty first made :
And, now, ambition doth inuade
Her state, with eating auarice,
Riot, and euery other vice.
Decrees are bought, and lawes are sold,
Honors, and offices for gold ;
The peoples voyces : and the free
Tongues, in the Senate, bribed bee.
Such ruine of her manners Rome
Doth suffer now, as shee's become
(Without the gods it soone gaine-say)
Both her owne spoiler, and owne prey.

So, Asia, 'art thou cru'lly euen
With vs, for all the blowes thee giuen ;
When we, whose vertue conquer'd thee,
Thus, by thy vices, ruin'd bee.

570

575

580

[697]

585

ACTLL

FVLVIA, GALLA, SERVANT.

THose roomes doe smell extremely. Bring my glasse,
And table hither, GALLA. GAL. Madame. FVL.

Looke
Within, 'i my blew cabinet, for the pearle

582 bee.] be ? G. ACT II. SCENE I. A Room in

Fulvia's House. Enter FULVIA, GALLA, and Servant. S. D.— G.

2 hither, GALLA] hither. - Galla ! G.

28 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT II

I'had sent me last, and bring it. GAL. That from

CLODIVS ?

5 FVL. From CAIVS CAESAR. You' are for CLO
DIVS, still.

Or CVRIVS. Sirrha, if QVINTVS CVRIVS come,
I am not in fit moode ; I keepe my chamber :
Giue warning so, without. GAL. Is this it ? madame.
FVL. Yes, helpe to hang it in mine eare. GAL.

Beleeue me,

10 It is a rich one, madame. FVL. I hope so :
It should not be worne there else. Make an end,
And binde my haire vp. GAL. As 'twas yesterday ?
FVL. No, nor the t'other day. When knew you me
Appeare, two dayes together, in one dressing ?
*s GAL. WiU you ha't i' the globe, or spire ? FVL.

How thou wilt;

Any way, so thou wilt doe it, good impertinence.
Thy company, if I slept not very well
A nights, would make me, an errant foole, with questions.

CAL. Alas, madame FVL. Nay, gentle halfe

o'the dialogue, cease.

20 GAL. I doe it, indeed, but for your exercise,
As your physitian bids me. FVL. How! Do's he

bid you

To anger me for exercise ? GAL. Not to anger you,
But stirre your bloud a little : There's difference
Between luke-warme, and boyling, madame. FVL.

IOVE!

*s Shee meanes to cooke me, I thinke ? Pray you, ha* done.
GAL. I meane to dresse you, madame. FVL. O,
my IVNO,

6 [ExitGalla] S. N. — G. 8 [Exit Serv. S. N. — G. Re-enter

GALLA. S. D. — G. 13 the] om. 1716, W. 18 errant]

arrant G. 23 there's] there is G.

ACT II] Catiline his Conspiracy 29

Be friend to me ! Offring at wit, too ? Why, GALLA !
Where hast thou been ? GAL. Why ? madam ! FVL.

What hast thou done
With thy poore innocent selfe ? GAL. Wherefore ?

sweet madame !

FVL. Thus to come forth, so sodainely, a wit-worme ? 30
GAL. It pleases you to flout one. I did dreame

Of lady SEMPRONIA FVL. O, the wonder is out.

That did infect thee ? Well, and how? GAL. Me [698]
thought

She did discourse the best FVL. That euer thou

heard'st ?
GAL. Yes. FVL. I1 thy sleepe ? Of what was her 35

discourse ?

GAL. O' the republike, madame, and the state,
And how shee was in debt, and where shee meant
To raise fresh summes : Shee's a great states- woman !
FVL. Thou dream'st all this ? GAL. No, but you

know she is, madam,

And both a mistris of the latine tongue, 40

And of the greeke. FVL. I, but I neuer dreamt it,

GALLA,

As thou hast done, and therefore you must pardon me.
GAL. Indeed, you mock me, madame. FVL. In
deed, no.

Forth, with your learned lady. Shee has a wit, too ?
GAL. A very masculine one. FVL. A shee-Critick, 45

GALLA ?
And can compose, in verse, and make quick iests,

32 wonder is] wonder's G. (To print a full list of G.'s changes
in the meter of the text would be utterly useless, especially as G.
is entirely inconsistent. The two examples just cited show his
apparent stupidity ; in the first he omits a necessary elision, in the
second he inserts a needless one.)

30 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT II

Modest, or otherwise? GAL. Yes, madame. FVL.

Shee can sing, too ?
And play on instruments ? GAL. Of all kindes, they

say.
FVL. And doth dance rarely? GAL. Excellent!

So, well,

s° As a bald Senator made a iest, and said,
Twas better, then an honest woman need.
FVL. Tut, shee may beare that. Few wise womens

honesties
Will doe their courtship hurt. GAL. Shee's liberall

too, madame.

FVL. What ! of her money, or her honor, pray thee ?
55 GAL. Of both, you know not which shee doth spare

least.
FVL. A comely commendation. GAL. Troth, 'tis

pitty,
Shee is in yeeres. FVL. Why, GALLA ? (GAL.)

For it is.
FVL. O, is that all ? I thought thou'hadst had a

reason.

GAL. Why, so I haue. Shee has beene a fine lady.
60 And, yet, she dresses her selfe (except you, madame)
One o' the best on Rome : and paints, and hides
Her decayes very well. FVL. They say, it is
Rather a visor, then a face shee weares.

GAL. They wrong her verily, madame, shee do's

sleeke
6s With crums of bread, and milke, and lies a nights

In as neat gloues But shee is faine of late

To seeke, more then shee's sought to (the fame is)

54 pray] pr'y 1640, 1716. W; prithee G. 57 (GAL.) This

speech wrongly assigned to FVL., Fi, F2, and 1640. GALLA] om.
Q3- 58 thou' hadst had] thou'dst had 1716, W, G. 64 do's]

doth 1716, W, G.

ACT II]

Catiline his Conspiracy

And so spends that way. FVL. Thou know'st all!

But, GALLA,

What say you to CATILINES lady, ORESTILLA ?
There is the gallant ! GAL. Shee do's well. Shee has 70
Very good sutes, and very rich : but, then,
Shee cannot put 'hem on. Shee knowes not how
To weare a garment. You shall haue her all
Jewels, and gold sometimes, so that her selfe
Appear es the least part of her selfe. No' in troth, 75
As I liue, madame, you put 'hem all downe
With your meere strength of iudgement ! and doe draw,

too,

The world of Rome to follow you ! you attire [699]

Your selfe so diuersly ! and with that spirit !
Still to the noblest humors ! They could make 8o

Loue to your dresse, although your face were away, they

say.

FVL. And body too, and ha' the better match on't ?
Say they not so too, GALLA ? Now ! What newes
Trauailes your count 'nance with ? SER. If 't please

you, madame,

The lady SEMPRONIA is lighted at the gate. *s

GAL. CASTOR, my dreame, my dreame. SER.

And comes to see you.
GAL. For VENVS sake, good madame see her.

FVL. Peace,

The foole is wild, I thinke. GAL. And heare her talke,
Sweet madame, of state-matters, and the Senate.

78 you!] om. 1640, 1692, 1716. 83 Re-enter Servant.

S. D. — G. 85 gate.] gate; Fi. F2. 87 [Exit Sen/.

S. N.-G.

32 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT II

SEMPRONIA, FVLVIA, GALLA.

90 T^VLVIA, good wench, how dost thou ? FVL. Well,

SEMPRONIA.

Whither are you thus early addrest ? SEM. To see
AVRELIA ORESTILLA. Shee sent for me.
I came to call thee, with me, wilt thou goe ?

FVL. I cannot now, in troth, I haue some letters
95 To write, and send away. SEM. Alas, I pitty thee.
I ha'beene writing all this night (and am
So very weary) vnto all the tribes,
And centuries, for their voyces, to helpe CATILINE,
In his election. We shall make him Consul,
'°° I hope, amongst vs. CRASSVS, I, and CAESAR
Will carry it for him. FVL. Do's he stand for 't ?
SEM. H'is the chiefe Candidate. FVL. Who

stands beside ?

(Giue me some wine, and poulder for my teeth.
SEM. Here's a good pearle in troth ! FVL. A

pretty one.

los SEM. A very orient one !) There are competitors,
CAIVS ANTONIVS, PVBLIVS GALBA, LVCIVS
CASSIVS LONGINVS, QVINTVS CORNIFICIVS,
CAIVS LICINIVS, and that talker, CICERO.
But CATILINE, and ANTONIVS wiU be chosen.
»o For foure o' the other, LICINIVS, LONGINVS,
GALBA, and CORNIFICIVS will giue way.
And CICERO they will not choose. FVL. No ? why ?
SEM. It will be cross 'd, by the nobilitie.
GAL. (How shee do's vnderstand the common

businesse !)
"5 SEM. Nor, were it fit. He is but a new fellow,

Enter SEMPRONIA. S. D. — G. 96 ha'] have 1716, W. G.

102 H'is] He's 1692. Qs, 1716, W, G. no o*] of Qi, Q2.

114 [Aside. S. N. — G.

ACT IIJ

Catiline his Conspiracy

33

125

130

An in-mate, here, in Rome (as CATILINE calls him)

And the Patricians should doe very ill,

To let the Consulship be so defiTd

As't would be, if JBe obtain 'd it ! A meere vpstart,

That has no pedigree, no house, no coate, [700]

No ensignes of a family ? FVL. He'has vertue.

SEM. Hang vertue, where there is no bloud : 'tis vice,
And, in him, sawcinesse. Why should he presume
To be more learned, or more eloquent,
Then the nobilitie ? or boast any qualitie
Worthy a noble man, himself e not noble ?

FVL. 'Twas vertue onely, at first, made all men
noble.

SEM. I yeeld you, it might, at first, in Romes poore

age;

When both her Kings, and Consitls held the plough,
Or gar den 'd well : But, now, we ha' no need,
To digge, or loose our sweat for't. We haue wealth,
Fortune and ease, and then their stock, to spend on,
Of name, for vertue ; which will beare vs out
' Gainst all new commers : and can neuer faile vs,
While the succession stayes. And, we must glorifie,
A mushrome ? one of yesterday ? a fine speaker ?
'Cause he has suck'd at Athens'? and aduance him,
To our owne losse ? No, FVL VI A. There are they
Can speake greeke too, if need were. CAESAR, and I,
Haue sate vpon him ; so hath CRASSVS, too :
And others. We haue all decreed his rest,
For rising farder. GAL. Excellent rare lady!

FVL. SEMPRONIA, you are beholden to my woman,

here.

Shee do's admire you. SEM. O good GALLA, how
dost thou ?

CAL. The better, for your learned ladiship.

SEM. Is this grey poulder, a good dentifrice ?

135

»4S

34 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT II

FVL. You see I vse it. SEM. I haue one is whiter.
FVL. It may be so. SEM. Yet this smells well.

GAL. And clenses

Very well, madame, and resists the crudities.
1s° SEM. FVL VIA, I pray thee, who comes to thee, now ?
Which of our great Patricians ? FVL. Faith, I keepe
No catalogue of 'hem. Sometimes I haue one,
Sometimes another, as the toy takes their blouds.
SEM. Thou hast them all. Faith, when was QVIN-

TVS CVRIVS,

'ss Thy speciall seruant, here ? FVL. My speciall Seruant ?
SEM. Yes, thy idolater, I call him. FVL. He may

be yours,
If you doe like him. SEM. How ! FVL. He comes,

not, here,

I haue forbid him, hence. SEM. VENVS forbid !
FVL. Why? SEM. Your so constant louer. FVL.

So much the rather.

160 1 would haue change. So would you too, I am sure.
And now, you may haue him. SEM. Hee's fresh yet,

FVLVIA :

Beware, how you doe tempt me. FVL. Faith, for me,
He'is somewhat too fresh, indeed. The salt is gone,
That gaue him season. His good gifts are done.
[701] He do's not yeeld the crop that he was wont.
And, for the act, I can haue secret fellowes,
With backs worth ten of him, and shall please me
(Now that the land is fled) a myriade better.
SEM. And those one may command. FVL. 'Tis

true : these Lordings,

'70 Your noble Faunes, they are so imperious, saucy,
Rude, and as boistrous as Centaures, leaping

148 so.] so, 1640. 159 Constant] unconstant Qz. 169

Lordings] Lordlings 1640, 1692, 1716, W, G.

ACT II] Catiline his Conspiracy 35

A lady, at first sight. SEM. And must be borne
Both with, and out, they thinke. FVL. Tut, He

obserue

None of 'hem all : nor humour 'hem a iot
Longer, then they come laden in the hand, vs

And say, here's t'one, for th'tother. SEM. Do's

CAESAR giue well ?
FVL. They shall all giue, and pay well that come

here,

If they will haue it : and that iewells, pearle,
Plate, or round summes, to buy these. I'am not taken
With a cob-swan, or a high-mounting bull, «*>

As foolish LEDA, and EVROPA were,
But the bright gold, with DANAE. For such price,
I would endure, a rough, harsh IVPITER,
Or ten such thundring gamsters : and refraine
To laugh at 'hem, till they are gone, with my much «8s

suffring.
SEM. Th'art a most happy wench, that thus canst

make

Vse of thy youth, and freshnesse, in the season :
And hast it, to make vse of. FVL. (Which is the

happinesse.)

SEM. I am, now, faine to giue to them, and keepe

Musique, and a continuall table, to inuite 'hem; 'sx>

FVL. (Yes, and they study your kitchin, more then

you)

SEM. Eate myselfe out with vsury, and my lord, too,
And all my officers, and friends beside,
To procure money es, for the needfull charge
I must be at, to haue 'hem : and, yet, scarce *95

Can I atchieue 'hem, so. FVL. Why, that's because

176 t' one for th' tother] one for t'other 1716, W, G; tone for,
etc. Qi.

C

36 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT II

You affect yong faces onely, and smooth chinnes,
SEMPRONIA. If youl'd loue beards, and bristles,

(One with another, as others doe) or wrinkles

-'Who's that? Looke GALLA. GAL. 'Tis the party,

madame.
FVL. What party ? Has he no name ? GAL.

'Tis QVINTVS CVRIVS.

FVL. Did I not bid 'hem, say, I kept my chamber ?
GAL. Why, so they doe. SEM. He leaue you,

FVLVIA.
FVL. Nay, good SEMPRONIA, stay. SEM. In

faith, I will not.
*°s FVL. By IVNO, I would not see him. SEM. He

not hinder you.
GAL. You know, he will not be kept out, madame.

SEM. No,
Nor shall not, carefull GALLA, by my meanes.

FVL. As I doe live, SEMPRONIA— SEM. What

needs this ?

FVL. Goe, say, I am a-sleepe, and ill at ease.
[702] SEM. By CASTOR, no, Tie tell him, you are awake ;
And very well. Stay GALLA ; Farewell FVLVIA :
I know my manners. Why doe you labour, thus,
With action, against purpose ? QVINTVS CVRIVS,
Shee is, yfaith, here, and in disposition.
2I5 FVL. Spight, with your courtesie ! How shall I
be tortur'd !

W

CVRIVS, FVLVIA, GALLA.

7 Here are you, faire one, that conceale your selfe,
And keepe your beautie, within locks, andbarres,
here,

199 [Knocking within. S. N. — G. 214 [Exit. S. N. — G.

Enter CURIUS. S. D. — G.

ACT II]

Catiline his Conspiracy

37

Like a fooles treasure ? FVL. True, shee was a foole,
When, first, shee shew'd it to a thiefe. CVR. How,

pretty solennesse !

So harsh and short ? FVL. The fooles artillery, sir. Jao
CAR. Then, take my gowne off, for th 'encounter.

FVL. Stay sir.

I am not in the moode. CVR. Fie put you into't.
FVL. Best put your selfe, i'your case againe, and

keepe
Your furious appetite warme, against you haue place

for't.
CVR. What ! doe you coy it ? FVL. No sir. "5

I'am not proud.
CVR. I would you were. You thinke, this state

becomes you !

By HERCVLES, it do's not. Looke i'your glasse, now,
And see, how sciruely that countenance shewes;
You would be loth to owne it. FVL. I shall not

change it.
CVR. Faith, but you must ; and slack this bended 73<>

brow ;

And shoot lesse scorne : there is a fortune comming
Towards you, Daintie, that will take thee, thus,
And set thee aloft, to tread vpon the head
Of her owne statue, here, in Rome. FVL. I wonder ;
Who let this promiser in ! Did you, good diligence ? '35
Giue him his bribe, againe. Or if you had none,
Pray you demand him, why he is so ventrous,
To presse, thus, to my chamber, being forbidden,
Both, by my selfe, and seruants ? CVR. How ! This's

handsome !

And somewhat a new straine ! FVL. 'Tis not strain'd, sir. '40
'Tis very naturall. CVR. I haue knowne it otherwise,

221 [Takes off his gown. S. N. — G.

C2

228 how] om. Q2.

38 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT II

Betweene the parties, though. FVL. For your fore
knowledge,

Thanke that, which made it. It will not be so,
Hereafter, I assure you. FVR. No, my mistris ?
'45 FVL. No, though you bring the same materialls.

CVR. Heare me,

You ouer-act when you should vnder-doe.
A little call your selfe againe, and thinke.
If you doe this to practise on me, or finde
At what forc'd distance you can hold your seruant ;
"50 That' it be an artificiall trick, to enflame,

And fire me more, fearing my loue may need it,
[703] As, heretofore, you ha' done : why, proceede.

FVL. As I ha' done heretofore ? CVR. Yes, when

you'ld faine

Your husbands iealousie, your seruants watches,
255 Speake softly, and runne often to the dore,

Or to the windore, forme strange feares that were not ;
As if the pleasure were lesse acceptable,
That were secure. FVL. You are an impudent fellow.
CVR. And, when you might better haue done it, at

the gate,

260 To take me in at the casement. FVL. I take you in ?
CVR. Yes, you my lady. And, then, being a-bed

with you,

To haue your well taught wayter, here, come running,
And cry, her lord, and hide me without cause,
Crush 'd in a chest, or thrust vp in a chimney.
265 When he, tame crow, was winking at his farme ;
Or, had he beene here, and present, would haue kept
Both eyes, and beake seal'd vp, for sixe sesterces.
FVL. You haue a slanderous, beastly, vnwash'd
tongue,

267 seal'd] seel'd W, G.

ACT II]

Catiline his Conspiracy

39

drawes her
knife.

I 'your rude mouth, and sauouring your selfe,
Vn-manner'd lord. CVR. How now ! FVL. It is

your title, sir. *7<>

Who (since you ha* lost your owne good name, and know

not

What to loose more) care not, whose honor you wound,
Or fame'you poyson with it. You should goe,
And vent your selfe, i' the region, where you liue,
Among the suburbe-brothels, bawdes, and brokers, «7s
Whither your broken fortunes haue design 'd you.
CVR. Nay, then I must stop your fury, I see; and

pluck
The tragick visor off. Come, lady CYPRIS, & offers to

J force her

Know your owne vertues, quickly. He not be and shee

Put to the wooing of you thus, a-fresh,

At euery turne, for all the VENVS in you.

Yeeld, and be pliant ; or by POLLVX— —How now ?

Will LAIS turne a LVCRECE ? FVL. No, but by

CASTOR,

Hold off your rauishers hands, I pierce your heart, else,
lie not be put to kill my selfe, as shee did »85

For you, sweet TARQVINE. What ? doe you fall off ?
Nay, it becomes you graciously ! Put not vp.
You'll sooner draw your weapon on me, I thinke it,
Then on the Senate, who haue cast you forth
Disgracefully, to be the common tale »9o

Of the whole citie ; base, infamous man !
For, were you other, you would there imploy
Your desperate dagger. CVR. FVLVIA, you doe know
The strengths you haue vpon me ; doe not vse
Your power too like a tyran : I can beare, *95

Almost vntill you breake me. FVL. I doe know, sir,
So do's the Senate, too, know, you can beare. [704]

271 you ha'] you've W, G. Marginal direction om. Qi,

Q2. [Offers to force her, she draws her knife.] S. N. — G.

40 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT II

CVR. By all the gods, that Senate will smart deepe
For your vpbraidings. I should be right sorry
3<*> To haue the meanes so to be veng'd on you,
(At least, the will) as I shall shortly on them.
But, goe you on still ; fare you well, deare lady :
You could not still be faire'vnlesse you were proud.
You will repent these moodes, and ere't be long, too.
305 1 shall ha* you come about, againe. FVL. Doe you

thinke so ?

CVR. Yes, and I know so. FVL. By what augurie ?

CVR. By the faire entrailes of the matrons chests,

Gold, pearle, and iewells, here in Rome, which FVLVIA

Will then (but late) say that shee might haue shar'd :

3'° And, grieuing, misse. FVL. Tut, all your promis'd

mount aynes,
And seas, I am so stalely acquainted with—

CVR. But, when you see the vniuersall floud
Runne by your coffers, that my lords, the Senators,
Are sold for slaues, their wiues for bond-women,
315 Their houses, and fine gardens giuen away,

And all their goods, vnder the speare, at out cry,
And you haue none of this ; but are still FVLVIA,
Or perhaps lesse, while you are thinking of it :
You will aduise then, Coynesse, with your cushion,
32° And looke o* your fingers ; say, how you were wish'd ;
And so, he left you. FVL. Call him againe, GALLA :
This is not vsuall ! something hangs on this
That I must winne out of him. CVR. How now, melt

you ?

FVL. Come, you will laugh, now, at my easinesse !
325 But, 'tis no miracle : Doues, they say, will bill,

After their pecking, and their murmuring. CVR. Yes,

311 stalely] stately Q2. 321 [Exit. S. N. — G. [Exit

Galla. S. N. — G. 323 Re-enter CURIUS. S. D. — G.

ACT II]

Catiline his Conspiracy

And then 'tis kindly. I would haue my loue

Angrie, sometimes, to sweeten off the rest

Of her behauiour. FVL. You doe see, I studie

How I may please you, then. But you thinke, CVRIVS, 330

Tis couetise hath wrought me : if you loue me,

Change that vnkinde conceipt. CVR. By my lou'd

soule,

I loue thee, like to it ; and 'tis my studie,
More then mine owne reuenge, to make thee happy.

FVL. And 'tis that iust reuenge doth make me happy 335
To heare you prosequute : and which, indeed,
Hath wonne me, to you, more, then all the hope
Of what can alse be promis'd. I loue valour
Better, then any lady loues her face,
Or dressing : then my selfe do's. Let me grow 340

Still, where I doe embrace. But, what good meanes
Ha' you t'effect it ? Shall I know your proiect ? [705]
CVR. Thou shalt, if thou'lt be gracious. FVL. As

I can be.
CVR. And wilt thou kisse me, then? FVL. As

close as shells
Of cockles meet. CVR. And print 'hem deepe ? FVL. 345

Quite through
Our subtle lips. CVR. And often ? FVL. I will

sow 'hem,

Faster, then you can reape. What is your plot ?
CVR. Why, now my FVLVIA lookes, like her bright

name !

And is her selfe ! FVL. Nay, answere me, your plot :
I pray thee tell me, QVINTVS. CVR. I, these sounds «°

T>r • . • V T • u -i She kisses and

Become a mistns. Here is harmonic ! flatters him a-

When you are harsh, I see, the way to bend you to**?

350 pray] pr'y 1640, 1692, 1716. Marginal note inserted as side
note at 355 by G : [Kisses and flatters him along still.

42 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT II

Is not with violence, but seruice. Cruell,
A lady is a fire : gentle, a light.
355 FVL. Will you not tell me, what I aske you ? CVR.

All,

That I can thinke, sweet loue, or my brest holds,
He poure into thee. FVL. What is your designe, then ?
CVR. He tell thee ; CATILINE shall now be Consull :
But, you will heare me more, shortly. FVL. Nay,

deare loue

360 CVR. He speake it, in thine armes, let vs goe in.
Rome will be sack'd, her wealth will be our prize ;
>, By publique ruine, priuate spirits must rise.

CHORVS.

GReat father MARS, and greater IOVE,
By whose high auspice, Rome hath stood
365 So long; and, first, was built in blood
Of your great nephew, that then stroue
Not with his brother, but your rites :
Be present to her now, as then,
And let not proud, and factious men
37o Against your wills oppose their mights.
Our Consuls, now, are to be made ;
O, put it in the publique voice
To make a free, and worthy choice :
Excluding such as would inuade
375 The common wealth. Let whom we name
Haue wisedome, fore-sight, fortitude,
Be more with faith, then face endu'd
And studie conscience, aboue fame.
Such, as not seeke to get the start

[Exeunt. S. N. — G.

G divides Chorus into 8-line stanzas. 365 built] build Q2.

ACT II]

Catiline his Conspiracy

43

In state, by power, parts, or bribes,
Ambition's bawdes : but moue the tribes

By vertue, modestie, desart.

Such, as to iustice will adhere,
What euer great one it offend :
And from the' embraced truth not bend

For enuy, hatred, gifts, or feare.

That, by their deeds, will make it knowne,
Whose dignitie they doe sustaine ;
And life, state, glorie, all they gaine,

Count the republiques, not their owne.

Such the old BRVTI, DECII were,
The CIPI, CVRTII, who did giue
Themselves for Rome: and would not liue,

As men, good, only for a yeere.

Such were the great CAMILLI, too;
The FABII, SCIPIO'S; that still thought
No worke, at price inough, was bought,

That for their countrey they could doe.

And, to her honor, so did knit ;
As all their acts were vnderstood
The sinewes of the publique good :

And they themselves, one soule, with it.

These men were truely magistrates ;

These neither practised force, nor formes :
Nor did they leaue the helme, in stormes !

And such they are make happy states.

[706]

3«5

39<>

395

405

44 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT III

ACT III,

CICERO, CATO, CATVLVS, ANTONIVS,

CRASSVS, CAESAR, CHORVS,

LICTORS.

GReat honors are great burdens : but, on whom
They 'are cast with enuie, he doth beare two loades.

His cares must still be double to his ioyes,

In any dignitie ; where, if he erre
5 He findes no pardon : and, for doing well

A most small praise, and that wrung out by force.

I speake this, Romanes, knowing what the weight

Of the high charge, you 'haue trusted to me, is.

Not, that thereby I would with art decline
10 The good, or greatnesse of your benefit ;

For, I ascribe it to your singular grace,

And vow, to owe it to no title else,
[707] Except the gods, that CICERO' is your Consul.
\ I haue no vrnes; no dustie moniments;
js No broken images of ancestors,

Wanting an eare, or nose ; no forged tables

Of long descents ; to boast false honors from :

Or be my vnder- takers to your trust.

But a new man (as I am stil'd in Rome)
20 Whom you haue dignified ; and more, in whom

Yo'haue cut a way, and left it ope for vertue

Hereafter, to that place : which our great men

Held shut vp, with all ramparts, for tfiemselues.

Nor haue but few of them, in time beene made
2s Your Consuls, so ; new men, before me, none :

ACT III. SCENE I. The Field of Mars. Enter CICERO,
CATO, CATULUS, ANTONIUS, CRASSUS, CAESAR, Chorus, Lictors, and
People. S. D. — G. 2 beare] wear 1716. 6 most] om.

Cj2. 21 a way] away Q2. 23 ramparts] rampires Qi, Cj2.

ACT III]

Catiline his Conspiracy

45

At my first suite ; in my iust yeere ; preferd
To all competitors ; and some the noblest—

CRA. Now the vaine swels. CAES. Vp glorie.

CIC. And to haue

Your loud consents, from your owne vtter'd voices ;
Not silent bookes : nor from the meaner tribes,
But first, and last the vniuersall concourse !
This is my ioy, my gladnesse. But my care,
My industrie, and vigilance now must worke,
That still your counsells of me be approu'd ;
Both, by your selues, and those, to whom you haue,
With grudge, prefer 'd me : two things I must labour,
That neither they vpbraid, nor you repent you.
For euery lapse of mine will, now, be call'd
Your error, if I make such. But, my hope is,
So to beare through, and out, the Cons#/-ship,
As spight shall ne're wound you, though it may me.
And, for my selfe, I haue prepared this strength,
To doe so well; as, if there happen ill
Vnto me, it shall make the gods to blush :
And be their crime, not mine, that I am enui'd !

CAES. O confidence ! more new, then is the man.

CIC. I know well, in what termes I doe receiue
The common wealth, how vexed, how perplex'd :
In which, there's not that mischiefe, or ill fate,
That good men feare not, wicked men expect not.
I know, beside, some turbulent practises
Alreadie on foot, and rumors of moe dangers—

CRA. Or you will make them, if there be none. CIC.

Last,
I know, 'twas this, which made the enuie, and pride

45

? '

28 [Aside to Caesar.] S. N.-G. 34 be] om. Q2. 49 there's]
there is Q2. 52 moe] more 1716, W, G. 53 [Aside.

S. N.-G.

46 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT III

55 Of the great Romane bloud bate, and giue way

To my election. CAT. MARCVS TVLLIVS, true;
[708] Our need made thee our Consul, and thy vertue.

CAES. CATO, you will vn-doe him, with your praise.
CATO. CAESAR will hurt himselfe, with his owne

enuie.
6° CHOR. The voice of CATO is the voice of Rome.

CATO. The voice of Rome is the consent of heauen !
And that hath plac'd thee, CICERO, at the helme,
Where thou must render, now, thy selfe a man,
And master of thy art. Each petty hand
6s Can steere a ship becalm 'd ; but he that will
Gouerne, and carry her to her ends, must know
His tides, his currents ; how to shift his sailes ;
What shee will beare in foule, what in faire weathers ;
Where her springs are, her leakes ; and how to stop 'hem ;
70 What sands, what shelues, what rocks doe threaten her ;
The forces, and the natures of all winds,
Gusts, stormes, and tempests ; when her keele ploughs

hell,

And deck knocks heauen : then, to manage her,
Becomes the name, and office of a pilot.
75 CIC. Which I'le performe, with all the diligence,
And fortitude I haue ; not for my yeere,
But for my life; except my life be lesse,
And that my yeere conclude it : if it must,
Your will, lou'd gods. This heart shall yet employ
80 A day, an houre is left me, so, for Rome,
As it shall spring a life, out of my death,
To shine, for euer glorious in my facts.
The vicious count their yeeres, vertuous their acts.
CHOR. Most noble Consul \ Let vs wait him home.

60 CHOR.] People G. 84 CHOR.] People G. [Exeunt

Cato, Cicero, Lictors, and People. S. N. — G.

ACT III]

Catiline his Conspiracy

47

CAES. Most popular Consul he is growne, me thinks ! 8s
CRA. How the rout cling to him ! CAES. And

CATO leads 'hem !
CRA. You, his colleague, ANTONIVS, are not

look't on.
ANT. Not I, nor doe I care. CAES. He enioyes

rest,

And ease, the while. Let th'others spirit toile,
And wake it out, that was inspir'd for turmoile. 9°

CATV. If all reports be true, yet, CAIVS CAES\R,
The time hath need of such a watch, and spirit.

CAES. Reports ? Doe you beleeue 'hem CATVLVS ?
Why, he do's make, and breed 'hem for the people ;
T'endeare his seruice to 'hem. Doe you not tast 95

An art, that is so common ? Popular men,
They must create strange monsters, and then quell 'hem ;
To make their artes seeme something. Would you haue
Such an HERCVLEAN actor in the scene,
And not his HYDRA ? They must sweat no lesse ««= t
To fit their properties, then t'expresse their parts.

CRA. Treasons, and guiltie men are made in states
Too oft, to dignifie the magistrates.

CATV. Those states be wretched, that are forc'd

to buy

Their rulers fame, with their owne infamy. Io*

CRA. We therefore, should prouide that ours doe not.
CAES. That will ANTONIVS make his care. ANT.

I shall.
CAES. And watch the watcher. CATV. Here comes

CATILINE.

How do's he brooke his late repulse ? CAES. I know
not.

93 CATVLVS ?] CATVLVS, Fi, F2.
assigned to CRA. Q2.

104 Speech wrongly

48 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT III

"° But hardly sure. CAT. LONGINVS, too, did stand ?
CAES. At first : but he gaue way vnto his friend.
CATV. Who's that come? LENTVLVS ? CAES.

Yes. He is againe

Taken into the Senate. ANT. And made Praetor.
CAT. I know't. He had my suffrage, next the

Consuls.

»s CAES. True, you were there, Prince of the Senate,
then.

[709] CATILINE, ANTONIVS, CATVLVS, CAE

SAR, CRASSVS, LONGINVS,
LENTVLVS.

HAile noblest Romanes. The most worthy Consul,
I gratulate your honor. ANT. I could wish
I had been happier, by your fellowship,
120 Most noble SERGIVS, had it pleas'd the people.

CATI. It did not please the gods ; who 'instruct the

people :

And their vn question 'd pleasures must be seru'd.
They know what's fitter for vs, then our selues ;
And 'twere impietie, to thinke against them.

CATV. You beare it rightly, LVCIVS ; and, it

glads me,

125 To find your thoughts so euen. CATI. I shall still
Studie to make them such to Rome, and heauen.
(I would with-draw with you, a little, IVLIVS.
CAES. He come home to you : CRASSVS would

not ha' you

To speake to him, 'fore QVINTVS CATVLVS.
i3o CATI. I apprehend you.) No, when they shall iudge

114 Consuls] Consuls; Fi, F2. Enter CATILINE, LONGINUS,

and LENTULUS. S. D. — G. 127 [Aside to Cues. S. N. — G.

130 [Aside. S. N. — G.

ACT III]

Catiline his Conspiracy

49

»35

Honors conuenient for me, I shall haue 'hem,
With a full hand : I know it. In meane time,
They are no lesse part of the common- wealth,
That doe obey, then those, that doe command.

CATV. O, let me kisse your fore-head, LVCIVS.
How are you wrong'd ! CATI. By whom ? CATV.

Publike report

That giues you out, to stomack your repulse ;
And brooke it deadly. CATI. Sir, shee brookes not me.
Beleeue me rather, and your selfe, now, of me :
It is a kinde of slander, to trust rumour. 140

CATV. I know it. And I could be angrie with it. [7101

CATI. So may not I. Where it concernes himself e,
Who's angrie at a slander, makes it true.

CATV. Most noble SERGIVS ! This your temper
melts me.

CRA. Will you doe office to the Consul, QVINTVS ? us

CAES. Which CATO, and the rout haue done the
other ?

CATV. I wait, when he will goe. Be still your selfe.
He wants no state, or honors, that hath vertue.

CATI. Did I appeare so tame, as this man thinkes me ?
Look'd I so poore ? so dead ? So like that nothing,
Which he calls vertuous ? O my breast, breake quickly ;
And shew my friends my in-parts, lest they thinke
I haue betraid 'hem. (LON. Where's GABINIVS ?
LEN. Gone.

LON. And VARGVNTEIVS ? LEN. Slipt away;

all shrunke :

Now that he mist the Consul-ship.) CATI. I am
The scorne of bond-men ; who are next to beasts.

150

155

147 when] then Q2. 148 vertue.] vertue, Fi, F2. [Exeunt

Catulus, Antonius, Caesar, Crassus, Lictors, &c. S. N. — G.
150 I] om. Q2. 153 [Aside. S. N. — G.

5o Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT III

What can I worse pronounce my selfe, that's fitter ?
The owle of Rome, whom boyes, and girles will hout !
That were I set vp, for that woodden god,
160 That keeps our gardens, could not fright the crowes,
Or the least bird from rnuiting on my head.

(LON. 'Tis strange how he should misse it. LEN.

Is't not stranger,

The vpstart CICERO should carrie it so,
By all consents, from men so much his masters ?
lfis LON. Tis true.) CATI. To what a shaddow, am

I melted !

(LON. ANTONIVS wan it but by some few voices.)
CATI. Strooke through, like aire, and feele it not.

My wounds
Close faster, then they're made. (LEN. The whole

designe,

And enterprise is lost by't. All hands quit it,
'7° Vpon his faile.) CATI. I grow mad at my patience.
It is a visor that hath poison'd me.
Would it had burnt me vp, and I died inward :
My heart first turn'd to ashes. (LON. Here's CETHE-
GVS yet.)

CATILINE, CETHEGVS, LENTVLVS,
LONGINVS, CATO.

O Epulse vpon repulse ? An in-mate, Consul ?
175 J.V That I could reach the axell, where the pinnes are,
Which bolt this frame; that I might pull 'hem out,
And pluck all into chaos, with my selfe.

CET. What, are we wishing now ? CATI. Yes,
my CETHEGVS.

162 [Aside. S.N. — G. i66[Aside. S.N.-G. 168 [Aside.

S. N.-G. 173 [Aside. S. N. — G. Enter CETHEGUS. S. D. — G.

ACT III]

Catiline his Conspiracy

Who would not fall with all the world about him ?

GET. Not I, that would stand on it, when it falls ; '*>
And force new nature out, to make another.
These wishings tast of woman, not of Romane. [711]

Let vs seeke other armes. CATI. What should we doe ?

GET. Doe, and not wish ; something, that wishes

take not :

So sodaine, as the gods should not preuent, ««s

Nor scarce haue time, to feare. CATI. O noble CAIVS !

GET. It likes me better, that you are not Consul.
I would not goe through open dores, but break 'hem ;
Swim to my ends, through bloud; or build a bridge
Of carcasses; make on, vpon the heads 190

Of men, strooke downe, like piles ; to reach the liues
Of those remaine, and stand : Then is't a prey,
When danger stops, and ruine makes the way.

CATI. How thou dost vtter me, braue soule, that

may not,

At all times, shew such as I am; but bend «95

Vnto occasion ! LENTVLVS, this man,
If all our fire were out, would fetch downe new,
Out of the hand of IOVE ; and riuet him
To Caucasus, should be but frowne : and let
His owne gaunt Eagle flie at him, to tire. 200

LEN. Peace, here comes CATO. CATI. Let him

come, and heare.

I will no more dissemble. Quit vs all ;
I, and my lou'd CETHEGVS here, alone
Will vndertake this giants warre, and carrie it.

LEN. What needs this, LVCIVS ? LON. SER- »os
GIVS, be more wane.

CATI. Now, MARCVS CATO, our new Consuls spie,
What is your sowre austeritie sent t 'explore ?

196 Vnto] Upon 1640, 1692, 1716. 206 Re-enter CATO.

S. D. — G. 207 explore?] explore. Fi, F2.

D

52 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT III

CATO. Nothing in thee, licentious CATILINE:
Halters, and racks cannot expresse from thee
210 More, then thy deeds. 'Tis onely iudgement waits thee.
CATI. Whose? CATO'S ? shall he iudge me?

CATO. No, the gods;

Who, euer, follow those, they goe not with :
And Senate; who, with fire, must purge sicke Rome
Of noisome citizens, whereof thou art one.
21 s Be gone, or else let me. 'Tis bane to draw

The same aire with thee. CET. Strike him. LEN.

Hold, good CAIVS.
CET. Fear'st thou not, CATO ? CATO. Rash

CETHEGVS, no.

'Twere wrong with Rome, when CATILINE and thou
Doe threat, if CATO fear'd. CATI. The fire you

speake of
320 If any flame of it approch my fortunes,

lie quench it, not with water, but with ruine.
CATO. You heare this, Romanes. CATI. Beare it

to the Consul.

CET. I would haue sent away his soule, before him.
You are too heauie, LENTVLVS, and remisse;
225 It is for you we labour, and the kingdome

Promis'd you by the SYBILL'S. CATI. Which his

Praetor-ship,
[712] And some small flatterie of the Senate more,

Will make him to forget. LEN. You wrong me,

LVCIVS.
LON. He will not need these spurres. CET. The

action needs 'hem.

230 These things, when they proceed not, they goe backward.
LEN. Let vs consult then. CET. Let vs, first, take
armes,

216 CAIVS.] CAIUS; Fi, F2. 222 [Exit. S. N.— G.

ACT III] Catiline his Conspiracy 53

They that denie vs iust things, now, will giue
All that we aske ; if once they see our swords.

CAT. Our obiects must be sought with wounds, not
words.

CICERO, FVLVIA.

IS there a heauen ? and gods ? and can it be aj5

They should so slowly heare, so slowly see !
Hath IOVE no thunder ? or is IOVE become

A.

Stupide as thou art ? O neere-wretched Rome,

When both thy Senate, and thy gods doe sleepe,

And neither thine, nor their owne states doe keepe ! 340

What will awake thee, heauen ? what can excite

Thine anger, if this practice be too light ?

His former drifts partake of former times,

But this last plot was onely CATILINES.

O, that it were his last. But he, before a45

Hath safely done so much, hee'll still dare more.

Ambition, like a torrent, ne're lookes back ;

And is a swelling, and the last affection

A high minde can but off : being both a rebell

Vnto the soule, and reason, and enforce th aso

All lawes, all conscience, treades vpon religion,

And off ere th violence to natures selfe.

But, here, is that transcends it ! A black purpose

To confound nature : and to ruine that,

Which neuer age, nor mankinde can repaire ! 255

Sit downe, good lady; CICERO is lost

In this your fable : for, to thinke it true

Tempteth my reason. It so farre exceedes

All insolent fictions of the tragick scene !

234 [Exeunt. S. N. — G. SCENE II. Cicero's House.

Enter CICERO and FULVIA. S. D. — G. 239 thy ... thy]

the ... the Cj2.

D2

54 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT ill

260 The common-wealth, yet panting, vnder-neath
The stripes, and wounds of a late ciuill warre,
Gasping for life, and scarce restor'd to hope;
To seeke t'oppresse her, with new crueltie,
And vtterly extinguish her long name,

afis With so prodigious, and vnheard-of fiercenesse !
What sinke of monsters, wretches of lost minds,
Mad after change, and desp'rate in their states,
Wearied, and gall'd with their necessities,
[713] (For all this I allow them) durst haue thought it ?

27° Would not the barbarous deeds haue beene beleeu'd,
Of MARIVS, and SYLLA, by our children,
Without this fact had rise forth greater, for them ?
All, that they did, was pietie, to this !
They, yet, but murdred kinsfolke, brothers, parents,

275 Rauish'd the virgins, and, perhaps, some matrons ;
They left the citie standing, and the temples :
The gods, and maiestie of Rome were safe yet !
These purpose to fire it, to dispoile them,
(Beyond the other euils) and lay wast

280 The farre-triumphed world : for, vnto whom
Rome is too little, what can be inough ?
FVL. 'Tis true, my lord, I had the same discourse.
CIC. And, then, to take a horride sacrament
In humane bloud, for execution

28s Of this their dire designe ; which might be call'd
The height of wickednesse : but that, that was higher,
For which they did it ! FVL. I assure your lordship,
The extreme horror of it almost turn'd me
To aire, when first I heard it ; I was all

29° A vapor , when 'twas told me : and I long'd
To vent it any where. 'Twas such a secret,

269 713] misprinted 317 Fi, F2. 272 rise] rose W;

risse ' G.

ACT III] Catiline his Conspiracy 55

I thought, it would haue burnt me vp. CIC. Good

FVLVIA,
Feare not your act ; and lesse repent you of it.

FVL. I doe not, my good lord. I know to whom
I haue vterr'd it. CIC. You haue discharg'd it, safely. w
Should Rome, for whom you haue done the happy seruice,
Turne most ingrate ; yet were your vertue paid
In conscience of the fact : so much good deedes
Reward themselves. FVL. My lord, I did it not
To any other aime, but for it selfe. 3«>

To no ambition. CIC. You haue learn 'd the difference
Of doing office to the publike weale,
And priuate friendship : and haue shewne it, lady.
Be still your selfe. I haue sent for QVINTVS CVRIVS,
And (for your vertuous sake) if I can winne him, 305
Yet, to the common-wealth ; he shall be safe too.

FVL. He vnder-take, my lord, he shall be won.

CIC. Pray you, ioyne with me, then : and helpe to
worke him.

CICERO, LICTOR, FVLVIA, [714]

CVRIVS.

HOw now ? Is he come ? LIC. He'is here, my
lord. CIC. Go presently,

Pray my colleague ANTONIVS, I may speake with him, 3«o
About some present businesse of the state ;
And (as you goe) call on my brother QVINTVS,
And pray him, with the Tribunes to come to me.
Bid CVRIVS enter. FVLVIA, you will aide me ?

FVL. It is my dutie. CIC. O, my noble lord ! 315
I haue to chide you, yfaith. Giue me your hand.

307 shall] will Qi, Q2. Enter a Lictor. S. D. — G.

314 [Exit Lict.] S. N. — G. Enter CURIUS. S. D. — G.

56 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT III

Nay, be not troubled ; 't shall be gently, CVRIVS.
You looke vpon this lady ? What ! Doe you ghesse
My businesse, yet ? Come, if you frowne, I thunder :

3=0 Therefore, put on your better lookes, and thoughts.
There's nought but faire, and good intended to you ;
And I would make those your complexion.
Would you, of whom the Senate had that hope,
As, on my knowledge, it was in their purpose,

335 Next sitting, to restore you : as they ha'done
The stupide, and vngratefull LENTVLVS
(Excuse me, that I name you thus, together,
For, yet, you are not such) would you, I say,
A person both of bloud and honor, stock't

33° In a long race of vertuous ancestors,

Embarke your selfe for such a hellish action,
With parricides, and tray tors ; men turn'd furies,
Out of the wast, and ruine of their fortunes !
(For 'tis despaire, that is the mother of madnesse)

335 Such as want (that, which all conspirators,

But they, haue first) meere colour for their mischiefe ?
O, I must blush with you. Come, you shall not labour
To extenuate your guilt, but quit it cleane ;
Bad men excuse their faults, good men will leaue 'hem.

340 He acts the third crime, that defends the first.
Here is a lady, that hath got the start,
In pietie of vs all ; and, for whose vertue,
I could almost turne louer, againe : but that
TERENTIA would be iealous. What an honor

345 Hath shee atchieued to her selfe ! What voices,
Titles, and loud applauses will pursue her,
Through euery street ! What windores will be filTd,
To shoot eyes at her ! What enuy, and grief e in matrons,
They are not shee ! when this her act shall seeme

347 euery] ever Q3.

ACT III]

Catiline his Conspiracy

57

Worthier a chariot, then if POMPEY came, 35* [71 5]

With Asia chain 'd ! All this is, while shee liues.

But dead, her very name will be a statue !

Not wrought for time, but rooted in the minds

Of all posteritie : when brasse, and marble,

I, and the Capitol it selfe is dust ! 355

FVL. Your honor thinks too highly of me. CIC. No :
I cannot thinke inough. And I would haue
Him emulate you. Tis no shame, to follow
The better precedent. Shee shewes you, CVRIVS,
What claime your countrey layes to you ; and what dutie 3*0
You owe to it : be not afraid, to breake
With murderers, and tray tors, for the sauing
A life, so neere, and necessary to you,
As is your countries. Thinke but on her right.
No child can be too naturall to his parent. 365

Shee is our common mother, and doth challenge
The prime part of vs ; doe not stop, but giue it :
He, that is void of feare, may soone be iust.
And no religion binds men to be traitors.

FVL. My lord, he vnderstands it ; and will follow 370
Your sauing counsell : but his shame, yet, stayes him.
I know, that he is comming. CVR. Doe you know it ?

FVL. Yes, let me speake with you. CVR. O you
are— FVL. What am I ?

CVR. Speake not so loud. FVL. I am, what you

should be,

Come, doe you thinke, Fid walke in any plot, 375

Where madame SEMPRONIA should take place of me,
And FVL VIA come i' the rere, or o' the by ?
That I would be her second, in a businesse,
Though it might vantage me all the sunne sees ?

373 [Takes him aside. S. N. — G. 374 [Lowering her voice.

S. N. — G. 377 o'] on Qi, Q2.

58 Catiline Us Conspiracy [ACT III

3«« It was a silly phant'sie of yours. Apply

Your selfe to me, and the Consul, and be wise;
Follow the fortune I ha' put you into :
You may be something this way, and with safetie.
CIC. Nay, I must tolerate no whisperings, lady.
385 FVL. Sir, you may heare. I tell him, in the way,
Wherein he was, how hazardous his course was.

CIC. How hazardous ? how certayne to all mine.
Did he, or doe, yet, any of them imagine
The go$cis, would sleepe, to such a Stygian practice,
390 Against that common-wealth, which they haue founded
With so much labour, and like care haue kept,
Now neere seuen hundred yeeres ? It is a madnesse,
Wherewith heauen blinds 'hem, when it would confound

'hem,

That they should thinke it. Come, my CVRIVS,
[716] I see your nature's right ; you shall no more
Be mentioned with them : I will call you mine,
And trouble this good shame, no farder. Stand
Firme for your countrey ; and become a man
Honor'd, and lou'd. It were a noble life,
400 To be found dead embracing her. Know you,
What thankes, what titles, what rewards the Senate
Will heape vpon you, certaine, for your seruice ?
Let not a desperate action more engage you.
Then safetie should : and wicked friendship force
405 What honestie, and vertue cannot worke.

FVL. He tells you right, sweet friend : 'Tis sauing

counsaile.

CVR. Most noble Consul, I am yours, and hers ;
I mean my countries : you 'haue form'd me new.
Inspiring me, with what I should be, truely.
410 And I intreat, my faith may not seeme cheaper

380 silly] seely Qi. phant'sie] fancie Q2.

ACT III]

Catiline his Conspiracy

59

For springing out of penitence. CIC. Good CVRIVS,

It shall be dearer rather, and because

II 'd make it such, heare, how I trust you more.

Keepe still your former face : and mixe againe

With these lost spirits. Runne all their mazes with 'hem : 415

For such are treasons. Find their windings out,

And subtle turnings, watch their snaky wayes,

Through brakes, and hedges, into woods of darkenesse,

Where they are faine to creepe vpon their brests

In paths ne're trod by men, but wolues, and panthers. •»«>

Learne, beside CATILINE, LENTVLVS, and those,

Whose names I haue ; what new ones they draw in ;

Who else are likely ; what those great ones are,

They doe not name ; what wayes they meane to take ;

And whither their hopes point : to warre, or ruine, 4*5

By some surprize. Explore all their intents,

And what you finde may profit the republique,

Acquaint me with it, either, by your selfe,

Or this your vertuous friend, on whom I lay

The care of vrging you. He see, that Rome 430

Shall proue a thankefull, and a bounteous mother :

Be secret as the night. CVR. And constant, sir.

CIC. I doe not doubt it. Though the time cut off
All vowes. The dignitie of truth is lost,
With much protesting. Who is there ! This way,
Lest you be seene, and met. And when you come,
Be this your token, to this fellow. Light 'hem.

O Rome, in what a sicknesse art thou fall'n !
How dangerous, and deadly! when thy head
Is drown 'd in sleepe, and all thy body feu'ry! [717]

No noise, no pulling, no vexation wakes thee,

425 whither] whether G. point:] point G. 435 Enter a

Servant. S. D. — G. Mar ginal direction om. Qi, Q2. [whispers

with him.] S. N. — G. [Exit Servant with Cur. and Fulvia.

S. N. — G.

435

He whispers
•with him.

60 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT ill

Thy lethargic is such : or if, by chance,

Thou heau'st thy eye-lids vp, thou dost forget

Sooner, then thou wert told, thy proper danger.

445 I did vn-reuerendly, to blame the gods,

Who wake for thee, though thou snore to thy selfe.
Is it not strange, thou shouldst be so diseas'd,
And so secure ? But more, that the first symptomes
Of such a maladie, should not rise out

450 From any worthy member, but a base

y And common strumpet, worthlesse to be nam'd
A haire, or part of thee ? Thinke, thinke, hereafter,
What thy needes were, when thou must vse such meanes :
And lay it to thy brest, how much the gods

455 Vpbraid thy foule neglect of them ; by making
So vile a thing, the author of thy safetie.
They could haue wrought by nobler wayes : haue strooke
Thy foes with forked lightning ; or ramm'd thunder ;
Throwne hills vpon 'hem, in the act ; haue sent

46° Death, like a dampe, to all their families ;
A Or caus'd their consciences to burst 'hem. But,

/ 1 When they will shew thee what thou art, and make
i\A scornefull difference 'twixt their power, and thee,
* They helpe thee by such aides, as geese, and harlots.

465 How now ? What answer ? Is he come ? LIC. Your

brother,

Will streight be here ; and your colleague ANTONIVS
Said, coldly, he would follow me. CIC. I, that
Troubles me somewhat, and is worth my feare.
He is a man, 'gainst whom I must prouide,

470 That (as hee'll doe no good) he doe no harme.
He, though he be not of the plot, will like it,

443 heau'st] have Q2. 445 vn-reuerendly] unreverently

Q2, 1640, 1692, 1716, G. 446 to] for 1692. 454 how]

haste Qs. 460 all] fall Q2. 465 Re-enter Lictor. S.

D. — G. 467 [Exit. S. N. — G.

ACT III] Catiline his Conspiracy 61

And wish it should proceed : for, vnto men,

Prest with their wants, all change is euer welcome.

I must with offices, and patience win him ;

Make him, by art, that which he is not borne, 475

A friend vnto the publique ; and bestow

The prouince on him ; which is by the Senate

Decreed to me : that benefit will bind him.

Tis well, if some men will doe well, for price :

So few are vertuous, when the reward's away. 4*0

Nor must I be vnmindfull of my priuate ;

For which I haue call'd my brother, and the tribunes,

My kins-folke, and my clients to be neere me :

He that stands vp 'gainst tray tors, and their ends, [718]

Shall need a double guard, of law, and friends : 4«s

Especially, in such an enuious state,

That sooner will accuse the magistrate,

Then the delinquent ; and will rather grieue

The treason is not acted, then beleeue.

CAESAR, CATILINE.

THe night growes on ; and you are for your meeting : 490
He therefore end in few. Be resolute,
And put your enterprise in act : the more
Actions of depth, and danger are consider 'd,
The lesse assuredly they are perform'd.
And thence it hapneth, that the brauest plots 495

(Not executed straight) haue been discouer'd.
Say, you are constant, or another, a third,
Or more ; there may be yet one wretched spirit,
With whom the feare of punishment shall worke
'Boue all the thoughts of honor, and reuenge. s«o

473 their] her Q2. 483 kins-folke] Kinsfolks G. 4»9 {.Exit.

S. N. — G. SCENE III. A Room in Catiline's House. Enter

CAESAR and CATILINE. S. D. — G. /_4.c«*'-

62 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT III

You are not, now, to thinke what's best to doe,
As in beginnings ; but, what must be done,
Being thus entred : and slip no aduantage
That may secure you. Let 'hem call it mischief e ;

505 When it is past, and prosper'd, 'twill be vertue.
Th'are petty crimes are punish'd, great rewarded.
Nor must you thinke of perill ; since, attempts,
Begunne with danger, still doe end with glory :
And, when need spurres, despaire will be call'd wisdome.

5'° Lesse ought the care of men, or fame to fright you ;
For they, that win, doe seldome receiue shame
Of victorie : how ere it be atchiu'd ;
And vengeance, least. For who, besieg'd with wants,
Would stop at death, or any thing beyond it ?

5*5 Come, there was neuer any great thing, yet,
Aspired, but by violence, or fraud :
And he that sticks (for folly of a conscience)

To reach it CAT. Is a good religious foole.

CAES. A supertitious slaue, and will die beast.

s" Good night. You know what CRASSVS thinkes, and I,
By this : Prepare you wings, as large as sayles,
To cut through ayre, and leaue no print behind you.
A serpent, ere he comes to be a dragon,
Do 's eate a bat : and so must you a Consul,
[719] That watches. What you doe, doe quickly SERGIVS.
You shall not stir for mee. CAT. Excuse me, lights

there.
CAES. By no meanes. CAT. Stay then. All good

thoughts to CAESAR.

And like to CRASSVS. CAES. Mind but your friends
counsells.

502 but] om. Cj2. 519 beast] a Beast 1716. 521 you]

your G. 525 [Going. S. N. — G. 528 [Exit. S. N. — G.

ACT III] Catiline his Conspiracy 63

CATILINE, AVRELIA, LECCA.

OR, I will beare no mind. How now, AVRELIA ?
Are your confederates come ? the ladies ? AVR. 530

Yes.
CAT. And is SEMPRONIA there ? AVR. She is.

CAT. That's well.

Shee ha's a sulphurous spirit, and will take
Light at a sparke. Breake with them, gentle loue,
About the drawing as many of their husbands,
Into the plot, as can : if not, to rid 'hem. 535

That'll be the easier practice, vnto some,
Who haue beene tir'd with 'hem long. Sollicite
Their aydes, for money : and their seruants helpe,
In firing of the citie, at the time

Shall be design'd. Promise 'hem states, and empires, 540
And men, for louers, made of better clay,
Then euer the old potter TITAN knew.
Who's that ? O, PORCIVS LECCA ! Are they met ?
LEC. They are all, here. CAT. Loue, you haue

your instructions :

He trust you with the stuff e you haue to worke on. 545
You'll forme it ? PORCIVS, fetch the siluer eagle
I ga' you in charge. And pray 'hem, they will enter.

CATILINE, CETHEGVS, CVRIVS, LENTV-

LVS, VARGVNTEIVS, LONGINVS,

GABINIVS, CEPARIVS,

AVTRONIVS, &c.

o

, Friends, your faces glad me. This will be
Our last, I hope, of consultation.

Enter AURELIA. S. D. — G. 542 potter] Porter 1640, 1692.

1716. Enter LECCA. S. D. — G. 546 [Exit Aurelia.]

S. N. — G. 547 [Exit Lecca. S. N. — G. Enter CETHEGUS,

Ac. S. D. — G.

64 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT III

55° GET. So, it had need. CVR. We loose occasion,

daily.
CAT. I, and our meanes : whereof one wounds me

most,
That was the fairest. PISO is dead, in Spaine.

GET. As we are, here. LON. And, as it is thought,

by enuy
Of POMPEY'S followers. LEN. He too's comming

backe,

555 Now, out of Asia. CAT. Therefore, what we intend,
We must be swift in. Take your seates, and heare.
I haue, already, sent SEPTIMIVS
Into the Picene territorie ; and IVLIVS,
To raise force, for vs, in Apulia :
s60 MANLIVS at Fesulae, is (by this time) vp,
[720] With the old needie troops, that follow'd SYLLA :
And all doe but expect, when we will giue
The blow at home. Behold this siluer eagle,
'Twas MARIVS standard, in the Cimbrian warre,
s6s Fatall to Rome ; and, as our augures tell me,
Shall still be so : for which one ominous cause,
I 'haue kept it safe, and done it sacred rites,
As to a god-head, in a chappell built
Of purpose to it. Pledge then all your hands,
57° To follow it, with vowes of death, and ruine,
Strooke silently, and home. So waters speake
When they runne deepest. Now's the time, this yeere,
The twenti'th, from the firing of the Capitol,
As fatall too, to Rome, by all predictions :
And, in which, honor'd LENTVLVS must rise

556 be swift in] be-swift it Q3. 563 Re-enter P. LECCA

with the eagle. S. D. — G. 564 'Twas] was Qi, Qa. 569

In Q2 reads thus :

Of purpose to it, with vowes of death and ruine.
Parts of 569 and 570 are thus totally omitted.

ACT III]

Catiline his Conspiracy

A king, if he pursue it. CVR. If he doe not,
He is not worthy the great destinie.

LEN. It is too great for me, but what the gods,
And their great loues decree me, I must not
Seeme carelesse of. CAT. No, nor we enuious. 580

We haue enough beside, all Gallia, Belgia,
Greece, Spaine, and Africke. CVR. I, and Asia, too,
Now POMPEY is returning. CAT. Noblest Romanes,
Me thinkes our lookes, are not so quicke and high,
As they were wont. CVR. No ? whose is not ? CAT. 585

We haue

No anger in our eyes, no storme, no lightning :
Our hate is spent, and fum'd away in vapor,
Before our hands, be' at worke. I can accuse
Not any one, but all of slacknesse. CET. Yes,
And be your selfe such, while you doe it. CAT. Ha ? 590
Tis sharply answer'd, CAIVS. CET. Truly, truly.

LEN. Come, let vs each one know his part to doe,
And then be accus'd. Leaue these vntimely quarrells.

CVR. I would there were more Romes then one, to
ruine.

CET. More Romes ? More worlds. CVR. Nay then, 595

more gods, and natures,

If they tooke part. LEN. When shall the time be,
first?

CAT. I thinke the Saturnalls. CET. Twill be too
long.

CAT. They are not now farre off, 'tis not a month.

CET. A weeke, a day, an houre is too farre off,
Now, were the fittest time. CAT. We ha' not laid 600
All things so safe, and readie. CET. While we' are

laying,
We shall all lye ; and grow to earth. Would I

576 pursue] peruse Q2.

66 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT III

Were nothing in it, if not now. These things

They should be done, e're thought. CAT. Nay, now

your reason

6°s Forsakes you, CAIVS. Thinke, but what commodity
[721] That time will minister; the cities custome

Of being, then, in mirth, and feast LEN. Loos'd

whole

In pleasure and securitie AVT. Each house

Resolu'd in freedome — CVR. Euery slaue a master

LON. And they too no meane aides CVR

610 Made from their hope

Of libertie — LEN. Or hate vnto their lords.

VAR. Tis sure, there cannot be a time found out

More apt, and naturall. LEN. Nay, good CETHEGVS,

Why doe your passions, now, disturbe our hopes ?

6's CET. Why doe your hopes delude your certainties ?

CAT. You must lend him his way. Thinke, for the

order,

And processe of it. LON. Yes. LEN. I like not fire:
'Twill too much wast my citie. CAT. Were it embers,
There will be wealth enough, rak't out of them,
620 To spring a new. It must be fire, or nothing.

LON. What else should fright, or terrifie 'hem ?

VAR. True.

In that confusion, must be the chiefe slaughter.
CVR. Then we shall kill 'hem brauest. CEP. And

in heaps.
AVT. Strew sacrifices. CVR. Make the earth an

altar.
as LON. And Rome the fire. LEC. Twill be a noble

night.

VAR. And worth all SYLLA'S dayes. CVR. When
husbands, wiues,

615 your] our 1640, 1692, 1716, W. 616 [Aside to Lentulus.]

S. N.— G. 620 a new] anew 1640, 1716, W.

ACT IIIJ

Catiline his Conspiracy

67

Grandsires, and nephewes, seruants, and their lords,
Virgins, and priests, the infant, and the nurse
Goe all to hell, together in a fleet.
CAT. I would haue you, LONGINVS, and STATI- 630

LIVS,

To take the charge o' the firing, which must be
At a signe giuen with a trumpet, done
In twelue chief e places of the citie, at once.
The flaxe, and sulphure, are alreadie laid
In, at CETHEGVS house. So are the weapons. 635

GABINIVS, you, with other force, shall stop
The pipes, and conduits : and kill those that come
For water. CVR. What shall I doe ? CAT. All will

haue

Employment, feare not : Ply the execution.
CVR. For that, trust me, and CETHEGVS. CAT. 640

I will be

At hand, with the armie, to meet those that scape.
And LENTVLVS, begirt you POMPEY'S house,
To seize his sonnes aliue : for they are they
Must make our peace with him. All else cut off,
As TARQVINE did the poppy heads; or mowers 645
A field of thistles ; or else, vp, as ploughes
Doe barren lands ; and strike together flints,
And clods ; th'vngratefull Senate and the people :
Till no rage, gone before, or comming after,
May weigh with yours, though horror leapt her selfe 65o

Into the scale ; but, in your violent acts,
The fall of torrents, and the noyse of tempests,
The boyling of Charybdis, the seas wildnesse,
The eating force of flames, and wings of winds,
Be all out- wrought, by your transcendent furies.
It had beene done e're this, had I beene Consul]

[722]

655

628 priests,] priests Fi, F2.

68 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT III

We 'had had no stop, no let. LEN. How find you

ANTONIVS ?

CAT. The'other ha's wonne him, lost : that CICERO
Was borne to be my opposition,

660 And stands in all our wayes. CVR. Remoue him first.
CET. May that, ye% be done sooner ? CAT. Would

it were done.
CVR. VAR. I'll do't. CET. It is my prouince ;

none vsurpe it.
LEN. What are your meanes ? CET. Enquire not.

He shall die.

Shall, was too slowly said. He'is dying. That
66s Is, yet, too slow. He'is dead. CAT. Braue, only

Romane,

Whose soule might be the worlds soule, were that dying ;
Refuse not, yet, the aides of these your friends.
LEN. Here's VARGVNTEIVS holds good quarter

with him.

CAT. And vnder the pretext of clientele,
67° And visitation, with the morning haile,

Will be admitted. CET. What is that to me ?
VAR. Yes, we may kill him in his bed, and safely.
CET. Safe is your way, then ; take it. Mine's mine

owne.

CAT. Follow him, VARGVNTEIVS, and perswade,
67s The morning is the fittest time. LON. The night
Will turne all into tumult. LEN. And perhaps
Misse of him too. CAT. Intreat, and coniure him,

In all our names LEN. By all our vowes, and

friendships.

658 him,] him Qi, Q2. 664 He is] He's 1640, 1716, W,

G. dying] a dying Qa. 665 yet] not Q2. 673 [Exit.

S. N.-G. 678 [Exit Vargunteius. S. N. — G.

ACT III]

Catiline his Conspiracy

69

SEMPRONIA, AVRELIA, FULVIA.

WHat ! is our consell broke vp first ? AVR.
You say

Women are greatest talkers. SEM. We ha' done ;
And are now fit for action. LON. Which is passion.
There's your best actiuitie, lady. SEM. How
Knowes your wise fatnesse that ? LON. Your mothers

daughter
Did teach me, madame. CAT. Come SEMPRONIA,

leaue him :

He is a giber. And our present businesse
Is of more serious consequence. AVRELIA
Tells me, you'haue done most masculinely within,
And plaid the orator. SEM. But we must hasten
To our designe as well, and execute :
Not hang still, in the feuer of an accident.

CAT. You say well, lady. SEM. I doe like our plot
Exceeding well, 'tis sure ; and we shall leaue
Little to fortune, in it. CAT. Your banquet stayes.
AVRELIA, take her in. Where's FVLVIA ?

SEM. O, the two louers are coupling. CVR. In

good faith,

Shee's very ill, with sitting vp. SEM. Youl'd haue her
Laugh, and lye downe ? FVL. No, faith, SEMPRONIA,
I am not well : I'le take my leaue, it drawes
Toward the morning. CVRIVS shall stay with you.
Madame, I pray you, pardon me, my health
I must respect. AVR. Fare- well, good FVLVIA.

CVR. Make hast , and bid him get his guards about him .

Enter SEMPRONIA, AURELIA, and FULVIA. S. D. — G. Q2

curiously misprints to them, the marginal note, as part of speech
of LEN. 680 [Whispers with Cat. while Ful. takes Cur. aside.

S. N. — G. 684 CAT.] Speech wrongly assigned to CET. by

Fi, F2. 688 plaid] play 1640, 1692. Marginal note

om. Qi, Q2. 702 [Aside to Fulvia.] S. N. — G.

£2

To thtm.

685

«9<»

[728]

this to
fu/uta

70 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT III

For VARGVNTEIVS, and CORNELIVS
Haue vndertane it, should CETHEGVS misse :

7°s Their reason, that they thinke his open rashnesse
Will suffer easier discouerie,
Then their attempt, so vayled vnder friendship.
He bring you to your coach. Tell him, beside,
Of CAESARS comming forth, here. CAT. My sweet
madame,

7io win you be gone ? FVL. I am, my lord, in truth,
In some indisposition. CAT. I doe wish
You had all you health, sweet lady : LENTVLVS,
You'll doe her seruice. LEN. To her coach, and dutie.

CATILINE.

WHat ministers men must, for practice, vse !
The rash, th' ambitious, needy, desperate,
Foolish, and wretched, eu'n the dregs of mankind,
To whores, and the women ! still, it must be so.
Each haue their proper place ; and, in their roomes,
They are the best. Groomes fittest kindle fires,

7*° Slaues carry burdens, butchers are for slaughters,
Apothecaries, butlers, cookes for poysons;
As these for me : dull, stupide LENTVLVS,
My stale, with whom I stalke; the rash CETHEGVS,
My executioner; and fat LONGINVS,

7*5 STATILIVS, CVRIVS, CEPARIVS, CIMBER,
My labourers, pioners, and incendiaries;
With these domesticke traytors, bosome theeues,
Whom custome hath call'd wiues ; the readiest helps,
To betray headie husbands ; rob the easie :

730 And lend the moneys, on returnes of lust.

713 {Exeunt all but Catiline. S. N. — G. 724 to betray

headie husbands] to strangle headstrong husbands Qi, Q2, W, G.

ACT III]

Catiline his Conspiracy

Shall CATILINE not doe, now, with these aides,

So sought, so sorted, something shall be call'd

Their labour, but his profit ? and make CAESAR

Repent his ventring counsells, to a spirit,

So much his lord in mischiefe ? when all these, [724]

Shall, like the brethren sprung of dragons teeth,

Ruine each other ; and he fall amongst 'hem :

With CRASSVS, POMPEY, or who else appeares,

But like, or neere a great one. May my braine

Resolue to water, and my bloud turne phlegme, 740

My hands drop off, vnworthy of my sword,

And that b'inspired, of it selfe, to rip

My brest, for my lost entraills ; when I leaue

A soule, that will not serue : and who will, are

The same with slaues, such clay I dare not feare. 745

The cruelty, I meane to act, I wish

Should be call'd mine, and tarry in my name ;

Whil'st, after-ages doe toile out themselues,

In thinking for the like, but doe it lesse :

And, were the power of all the fiends let loose, 750

With fate to boot, it should be, still, example.

When, what the Gaide, or Moore could not effect,

Nor emulous Carthage, with their length of spight,

Shall be the worke of one, and that my night.

CICERO, FVLVIA, QVINTVS.

IThanke your vigilance. Where's my brother, QVIN- 755
TVS?

Call all my seruants vp. Tell noble CVRIVS,
And say it to your selfe, you are my sauers ;
But that's too little for you, you are Romes :

754 [Exit. S. N. — G. SCENE IV. A Room in CICERO'S

House. Enter CICERO, FULVIA, and Attendant. S. D. — G. 756

[Exit Attendant.] S. N. — G.

72 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT III

What could I then, hope lesse ? O brother ! now,
760 The engines I told you of, are working ;

The machine 'gin's to moue. Where are your weapons ?
Arme all my house-hold presently. And charge
The porter, he let no man in, till day.

QVI. Not clients, and your friends ? CIC. They

weare those names,

765 That come to murther me. Yet send for CATO,
And QVINTVS CATVLVS ; those I dare trust :
And FLACCVS, and POMTINIVS, the Praetors,
By the backe way. QVI. Take care, good brother

MARCVS,

Your feares be not form'd greater, then they should ;
770 And make your friends grieue, while your enemies laugh.
CIC. 'Tis brothers counsell, and worth thankes.

But doe

As I intreat you. I prouide, not feare.
Was CAESAR there, say you ? FVL. CVRIVS sayes,

he met him,
Comming from thence. CIC. O, so. And, had you a

counsell
775 Of ladies too ? Who was your speaker, madame ?

FVL. Shee that would be, had there beene fortie

more;

[725] SEMPRONIA, who had both her greeke, and figures ;
And, euer, and anone, would ask vs, if
The witty Consul could haue mended that ?
78o Or Orator CICERO could haue said it better ?

CIC. Shee's my gentle enemy. Would CETHEGVS
Had no more danger in him. But, my guards
Are you, great powers; and th'vnbated strengths
Of a firme conscience, which shall arme each step

759 Enter QUINTUS CICERO. S. D. — G. 760 engines]

pnginers G; engines that W. 772 [Exit Quintus.] S. N. — G.

ACT III]

Catiline his Conspiracy

73

Tane for the state : and teach me slacke no pace 7*5
For feare of malice. How now, brother ? QVI. CATO,
And QVINTVS CATVLVS were comming to you,
And CRASSVS with 'hem. I haue let 'hem in,
By th' garden. CIC. What would CRASSVS have ?

QVI. I heare

Some whispering 'bout the gate ; and making doubt, 790
Whether it be not yet too early, or no ?
But I doe thinke, they are your friends, and clients,
Are fearefull to disturbe you. CIC. You will change
To 'another thought, anone. Ha' you giu'n the porter
The charge, I will'd you? QVI. Yes. CIC. With- 795

draw, and hearken.

VARGVNTEIVS, CORNELIVS, PORTER,

CICERO, CATO, CATVLVS,

CRASSVS.

THe dore's not open, yet. COR. You'were best to
knocke.
VAR. Let them stand close, then : And, when we

are in,
Rush after vs. COR. But where's CETHEGVS ?

VAR. He
Has left it, since he might not do't his way.

FOR. Who's there ? VAR. A friend, or more. 800

FOR. I may not let

Any man in, till day. VAR. No? why? COR.
Thy reason ?

786 Re-enter QUINTUS. S. D. — G. 795 CIC.] 1640 omits,

and assigns speech wrongly to QVI; so also 1716. [Exeunt.
S. N. — G. SCENE V. The street before Cicero's House.

Enter VARGUNTEIUS, and CORNELIUS, with armed men. S. D. — G.
799 [Knocks. S. N. — G. 800 FOR. [within.] S. N. — G. So,

too, at 802. Q2 om. FOR. and assigns speech wrongly to VAR.

74 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT III

FOR. I am commanded so. VAR. By whom ?

COR. I hope

We are not discouer'd. VAR. Yes, by reuelation.
Pray thee, good slaue, who has commanded thee ?
8°s FOR. He that may best, the Consul. VAR. We

are his friends.
FOR. All's one. COR. Best giue your name. VAR.

Do'st thou heare, fellow ?
I haue some instant businesse with the Consul.

Cicero speakes My name is VARGVNTEIVS. CIC. True, he knowes it ;

to them from ... . ,. . ,, fr.

above. And for what friendly office you are sent.

8'° CORNELIVS, too, is there ? VAR. We are betraid.
CIC. And desperate CETHEGVS, is he not ?
VAR. Speake you, he knowes my voyce. CIC.

What say you to't ?
COR. You are deceiu'd, sir. CIC. No, 'tis you

are so ;

Poore, misse-led men. Your states are yet worth pitty,
8is If you would heare, and change your sauage minds.

Leaue to be mad ; forsake your purposes
[726] Of treason, rapine, murder, fire, and horror :

The common-wealth hath eyes, that wake as sharpely
Ouer her life, as yours doe for her ruine.
a™ Be not deceiu'd, to thinke her lenitie
Will be perpetuall; or, if men be wanting,
The gods will be, to such a calling cause.
Consider your attempts, and while there's time,
Repent you of 'hem. It doth make me tremble
82s There should those spirits yet breath, that when they

cannot
Liue honestly, would rather perish basely.

805 FOR. [within.] S. N. — G. So, too, at 806. 808 CIC.

[appears at the window above, with Cato, Catulus, and Crassus.]
S. N. — G. Marginal note om. Qi, Cj2.

ACT III]

Catiline his Conspiracy

75

CATO. You talke too much to 'hem, MARCVS,

they 'are lost.
Goe forth, and apprehend 'hem. CATV. If you

proue

This practice, what should let the common-wealth
To take due vengeance ? VAR. Let vs shift, away.
The darkenesse hath conceal'd vs, yet. Wee'll say
Some haue abus'd our names. COR. Deny it all.

CATO. QVINTVS, what guards ha' you ? Call the

Tribunes aide,

And raise the citie. Consul, you are too mild,
The foulenesse of some facts takes thence all mercy :
Report it to the Senate. Heare : The gods
Grow angrie with your patience. 'Tis their care,
And must be yours, that guiltie men escape not.
As crimes doe grow, iustice should rouse it selfe.

835

It thunders
and lightens
violently on
the sodaine.

CHORVS.

WHat is it, heauens, you prepare
With so much swiftnesse, and so sodaine
rising ?

There are no sonnes of earth, that dare,
Againe, rebellion ? or the gods surprising ?
The world doth shake, and nature feares,

Yet is the tumult, and the horror greater
Within our minds, then in our eares :

So much Romes faults (now growne her fate) doe
threat her.

832 [Exeunt below. S. N.-G. 835 [// thunders and

lightens violently on a sudden] S. N. — G. 837 'Tis] This Q2.

839 [Exeunt above. S. N. — G. Marginal note missing Qi,

Q2. G divides Chorus into 4-line stanzas. 846 then] and Q2.

76 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT III

The priests, and people runne about,

Each order, age, and sexe amaz'd at other;
8s° And, at the ports, all thronging out,

As if their safety were to quit their mother :
Yet finde they the same dangers there,

From which they make such hast to be preserued ;
For guiltie states doe euer beare

855 The plagues about them, which they haue deserued.

And, till those plagues doe get aboue

The mountayne of our faults, and there doe sit ;
Wee see 'hem not. Thus, still we loue
The 'euill we doe, vntill we suffer it.
[727] 86° But, most, ambition, that neere vice

To vertue, hath the fate of Rome prouoked ;
And made, that now Rome's selfe no price,
To free her from the death, wherewith shee's

yoked.

That restlesse ill, that still doth build
86s Vpon successe ; and ends not in aspiring ;

But there begins. And ne're is filTd,
While ought remaines that seemes but worth

desiring :
Wherein the thought, vnlike the eye,

To which things farre, seeme smaller then they are,
87° Deemes all contentment plac'd on high :

And thinkes there's nothing great, but what is

farre.
O, that in time, Rome did not cast

Her errors vp, this fortune to preuent ;
T'haue seene her crimes 'ere they were past :
And felt her faults, before her punishment.

848 priests,] Priest 1640, 1692, 1716. 862 selfe] selfe ('s) G.

868 vnlike] much like Q2.

ACT IV)

Catiline his Conspiracy

77

c

ACT IIII

ALLOBROGES.

An these men feare ? who are not onely ours,

Dtufrs Sena
tors passe by
quaking, and
trembling.

But the worlds masters ? Then I see, the gods
Vpbraid our suffrings, or would humble them ;
By sending these affrights, while we are here ;
That we might laugh at their ridiculous feare,
Whose names, we trembled at, beyond the Atycs.
Of all that passe, I doe not see a face
Worthy a man ; that dares looke vp, and stand
One thunder out : but downe-ward all, like beasts,
Running away from euery flash is made.
The falling world could not deserue such basenesse.
Are we emploid here, by our miseries,
Like superstitious fooles (or rather slaues)
To plaine our griefs, wrongs, and oppressions,
To a meere clothed Senate, whom our folly
Hath made, and still intends to keepe our tyrannes ?
It is our base petitionarie breath
That blowes 'hem to this greatnesse ; which this pricke
Would soone let out, if we were bold, and wretched.
When they haue taken all we haue, our goods,
Crop, lands, and houses, they will leaue vs this :
A weapon, and an arme will still be found,
Though naked left, and lower then the ground.

D

CATO, CATVLVS, CICERO, ALLOBROGES. [728]
Oe ; vrge thine anger, still : good heauen, and iust.
Tell guiltie men, what powers are aboue them. »s

ACT IV. SCENE I. A Street at the foot of the Capitol. [The
storm continued.] Enter the Allbrogian Ambassadors. Divers
Senators pass by them, quaking and trembling. S. D. — G. Speech
assigned to i Amb. by G. 6 trembled] tremble Q*. 18

[Points to his sword. S. N. — G. 19 and] as W. Enter

CATO, CATULUS, and CICERO. S. D. — G. 24 iust] a just Q2.

j8 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT IV

In such a confidence of wickednesse,
Twas time, they should know something fit to feare.
CATV. I neuer saw a morne more full of horror.
CATO. To CATILINE, and his : But, to iust men
3° Though heauen should speake, with all his wrath at once,
That, with his breath, the hinges of the world
Did cracke, we should stand vpright, and vnfear'd.
CIC. Why, so we doe, good CATO. Who be these ?
CATV. Ambassadors, from the ALLOBROGES,
35 I take 'hem, by their habits. ALL. I, these men
Seeme of another race ; let's sue to these,
There's hope of iustice, with their fortitude.

CIC. Friends of the Senate, and of Rome, to day,
We pray you to forbeare vs : on the morrow
40 What sute you haue, let vs, by FABIVS SANGA,
(Whose patronage your state doth vse) but know it,
And, on the Consul's word, you shall receiue
Dispatch, or else an answere, worth your patience.
ALL. We could not hope for more, most worthy

Consul.

45 This magistrate hath strooke an awe into me,
And, by his sweetnesse, wonne a more reguard
Vnto his place, then all the boystrous moodes
That ignorant greatnesse practiseth, to fill
The large, vnfit authoritie it weares.
5° How easie is a noble spirit discern 'd
From harsh, and sulphurous matter, that flies out
In contumelies, makes a noyse, and stinkes !
May we find good, and great men : that know how
To stoup to wants, and meete necessities,
55 And will not turne from any equall suites.
Such men, they doe not succour more the cause,

35 ALL.] i Am. G. 44 ALL.] 2 Am. G. [Exeunt Cato,

Catulus, and Cicero. S. N. — G.

ACT IV] Catiline his Conspiracy 79

They vnder-take, with fauour, and successe ;
Then, by it, their owne Judgements they doe raise,
In turning iust mens needs, into their praise.

THE SENATE.

PRAE. Roome for the Consuls. Fathers, take your *»
places.

Here, in the house of IVPITER, the STAYER,
By edict from the Consul, MARCVS TVLLIVS,
You'are met, a frequent Senate. Heare him speake.

CIC. What may be happy, and auspicious still [729]

To Rome, and hers. Honor'd, and conscript Fathers, 65
If I were silent, and that all the dangers
Threatning the state, and you, were yet so hid
In night, or darkenesse thicker in their brests,
That are the blacke contriuers ; so, that no
Beame of the light could pierce 'hem : yet the voyce 7o
Of heau'n, this morning, hath spoke loud inough,
T'instruct you with a feeling of the horror;
And wake you from a sleepe, as starke, as death.
I haue, of late, spoke often in this Senate,
Touching this argument, but still haue wanted 75

Either your eares, or faith : so' incredible
Their plots haue seem'd, or I so vaine, to make
These things for mine owne glorie, and false greatnesse
As hath beene giuen out. But be it so.
When they breake forth, and shall declare themselues, so
By their too foule effects, then, then, the enuy
Of my iust cares will find another name.
For me, I am but one : and this poore life,

59 [Exeunt. S. N. — G. SCENE II. The Temple of Jupiter

Stator. Enter CICERO, ANTONIUS, CATO, CATULUS, CAESAR, CRASS us.
and many other Senators, Pr&tor, Officers, &c. S. D. — G. 62

TVLLIVS,] TVLLIVS. Fi, F2. 64 what] which Qi, Q2.

8o Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT IV

So lately aim'd at, not an houre yet since,
8s They cannot with more eagernesse pursue,
Then I with gladnesse would lay downe, and loose,
To buy Romes peace, if that would purchase it.
But when I see, they'ld make it but the step
To more, and greater ; vnto yours, Romes, all :
90 I would with those preserue it, or then fall.

CAES. I, I, let you alone, cunning artificer !
See, how his gorget 'peeres aboue his gowne ;
To tell the people, in what danger he was.
It was absurdly done of VARGVNTEIVS,
95 To name himself e, before he was got in.

CRA . It matters not, so they denie it all :
And can but carry the lye constantly.
Will CATILINE be here ? CAES. I'haue sent for him.

CRA. And ha' you bid him to be confident ?
100 CAES. To that his owne necessitie will prompt him.
CRA. Seeme to beleeue nothing at all, that CICERO
Relates vs. CAES. It will mad him. CRA. O, and

helpe

The other par tie. Who is that ? his brother ?
What new intelligence ha's he brought him now ?
*°5 CAES. Some cautions from his wife, how to behaue
him.

Quintus Cicero Q£e Place some of them without, and some bring in.

brings in the ,

Tribunes, and Thanke their kind loues. It is a comfort yet,

guards, j^t a}i depart not from their countries cause.

[730] CAES. How now, what meanes this muster ? Consul,

ANTONIVS ?

110 ANT. I doe not know, aske my colleague, hee'll
tell you.

84 yet since] sithence Qi. 95 [Aside to Crassus. S. N. — G.

Marginal direction missing Qi, Q2. Enter Q. CICERO with the
Tribunes and Guards. S. D. — G.

ACT IV]

Catiline his Conspiracy

Si

There is some reason in state, that I must yeeld to

And I haue promised him : indeed he has bought it,

With giuing me the Prouince. CIC. I professe,

It grieues me, Fathers, that I am compell'd

To draw these armes, and aides for your defence;

And, more, against a citizen of Rome,

Borne here amongst you, a Patrician,

A man, I must confesse, of no meane house,

Nor no small vertue, if be had employ 'd

Those excellent gifts of fortune, and of nature,

Vnto the good, not mine of the state.

But, being bred in's fathers needy fortunes,

Brought vp in's sisters prostitution,

Confirm'd in ciuill slaughter, entring first

The common- wealth, with murder of the gentrie;

Since, both by studie, and custome, conuersant

With all licentiousnesse : what could be hop'd

In such a field of riot, but a course

Extreme pernicious ? Though, I must protest,

I found his mischiefs, sooner, with mine eyes,

Then with my thought ; and with these hands of mine,

Before they touch'd, at my suspicion.

CAES. What are his mischiefs, Constd ? you declame
Against his manners, and corrupt your owne :
No wise man should, for hate of guiltie men, 135

Loose his owne innocence. CIC. The noble CAESAR
Speakes god-like truth. But, when he heares, I can
Conuince him, by his manners, of his mischiefs,
He might be silent : and not cast away
His sentences in vaine, where they scarce looke MO

Toward his subiect. CATO. Here he comes himselfe. Catiline sits

downt, and
Cato rises,
from him.

130

141 Enter CATILINE, and sits down by CATO, who quits his place.
S. D. — G. No note in Qi, Q2.

82 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT IV

If he be worthy any good mans voyce,
That good man sit downe by him : CATO will not.
CATV. If CATO leaue him, I'le not keepe aside.
'<s CATI. What face is this, the Senate here puts on,
Against me, Fathers ! Giue my modestie
Leaue, to demand the cause of so much strangenesse.

CAES. It is reported here, you are the head
To a strange faction, LVCIVS. CIC. I, and will
'5° Be prou'd against him. CATI. Let it be. Why,

Consul,

If in the common-wealth, there be two bodies,
One leane, weake, rotten, and that hath a head ;
The other strong, and healthfull, but hath none :
[731] If I doe giue it one, doe I offend ?

X55 Restore your selues, vnto your temper, Fathers ;
And, without perturbation, heare me speake.
Remember who I am, and of what place,
What petty fellow this is, that opposes;
One, that hath exercis'd his eloquence,
160 Still to the bane of the nobilitie :

A boasting, insolent tongue- man. CATO. Peace, leud

traytor,

Or wash thy mouth. He is an honest man
And loues his countrey, would thou didst so, too.
CATI. CATO, you are too zealous for him. CATO.

No;
'6s Thou art too impudent. CATV. CATILINE, be silent.

CATI. Nay, then, I easily feare, my iust defence
Will come too late, to so much preiudice.

(CAES. WiU he sit downe ?) CATI. Yet, let the

world forsake me,

My innocence must not. CATO. Thou innocent ?
'?<> So are the Furies. CIC. Yes, and Ate, too.

144 [Rises. S. N. — G. 168 [Aside. S. N.— G.

ACT IV]

Catiline his Conspiracy

«75

180

185

Do'st thou not blush, pernicious CATILINE ?
Or, hath the palenesse of thy guilt drunke vp
Thy bloud, and drawne thy veines, as drie of that,
As is thy heart of truth, thy brest of vertue ?
Whither at length wilt thou abuse our patience ?
Still shall thy furie mocke vs ? To what licence
Dares thy vnbridled boldnesse runne it selfe ?
Doe all the nightly guards, kept on the palace,
The cities watches, with the peoples feares,
The concourse of all good men, this so strong
And fortified seate here of the Senate,
The present lookes vpon thee, strike thee nothing ?
Do'st thou not feele thy counsells all laid open ?
And see thy wild conspiracie bound in
With each mans knowledge ? which of all this order
Canst thou thinke ignorant (if they'll but vtter
Their conscience to the right) of what thou didst
Last night, what on the former, where thou wert,
Whom thou didst call together, what your plots were ?
O age, and manners ! This the Consul sees, «9°

The Senate vnderstands, yet this man liues !
Liues ? I, and comes here into counsell with vs ;
Partakes the publique cares : and with his eye
Markes, and points out each man of vs to slaughter.
And we, good men, doe satisfie the state, 195

If we can shunne but this mans sword, and madnesse.
There was that vertue, once, in Rome, when good men
Would, with more sharpe coercion, haue restrain 'd
A wicked citizen, then the deadliest foe. [782]

We haue that law still, CATILINE, for thee ;
An act as graue, as sharpe : The state's not wanting,
Nor the authentic of this Senate ; we,
We, that are Consuls, onely faile our selues.
This twentie dayes, the edge of that decree
We haue let dull, and rust ; kept it shut vp, «o5

F

84 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT IV

As in a sheath, which drawne should take thy head.

Yet still thou liu'st : and liu'st not to lay by

Thy wicked confidence, but to confirme it.

I could desire, Fathers, to be found
"° Still mercifull, to seeme, in these maine perills

Grasping the state, a man remisse, and slacke ;

But then, I should condemne my selfe of sloth,

And trecherie. Their campe's in Italic,

Pitch'd in the iawes, here, of Hetruria ;
"5 Their numbers daily increasing, and their generall

Within our walls : nay, in our counsell ! plotting

Hourely some fatall mischiefe to the publique.

If, CATILINE, I should command thee, now,

Here, to be taken, kill'd ; I make iust doubt,
"o Whether all good men would not thinke it done

Rather too late, then any man too cruell.
CATO. Except he were of the same meale, and batch.
CIC. But that, which ought to haue been done long
since,

I will, and (for good reason) yet forbeare.
«s Then will I take thee, when no man is found

So lost, so wicked, nay, so like thy selfe,

But shall professe, 'tis done of need, and right.

While there is one, that dares defend thee, liue ;

Thou shalt haue leaue ; but so, as now thou liu'st :
2 3° Watch 'd at a hand, besieged, and opprest

From working least commotion to the state.

I haue those eyes, and eares, shall still keepe guard,

And spiall on thee, as they haue euer done,

And thou not feele it. What, then, canst thou hope ?
235 If neither night can, with her darknesse, hide,

Thy wicked meetings ; nor a priuate house

Can, in her walls, contayne the guiltie whispers

209 Fathers] grave fathers G. 233 spiall] spy all Q3-

ACT IV]

Catiline his Conspiracy

Of thy conspiracie : if all breake out,

All be discouered, change thy mind at last,

And loose thy thoughts of ruine flame, and slaughter.

Remember, how I told, here, to the Senate,

That such a day, thy Lictor, CAIVS MANLIVS,

Would be in armes. Was I deceiued, CATILINE ?

Or in the fact, or in the time ? the houre ?

I told too, in this Senate, that thy purpose

Was, on the fifth (the kalends of Nouember)

T'haue slaughter'd this whole order : which my caution

Made many leaue the citie. Canst thou here

Denie but this thy blacke designe was hindred,

That very day, by me ? thy selfe clos'd in

Within my strengths, so that thou could'st not moue

Against a publique reed ? when thou wert heard

To say, vpon the parting of the rest,

Thou would'st content thee, with the murder of vs,

That did remaine. Had'st thou not hope, beside,

By a surprize, by night, to take Praeneste ?

Where when thou cam'st, did'st thou not find the place

Made good against thee, with my aides, my watches ?

My garrisons fortified it. Thou do'st nothing, SERGIVS,

Thou canst endeauour nothing, nay not thinke,

But I both see, and heare it ; and am with thee,

By, and before, about, and in thee, too.

Call but to mind thy last nights businesse. Come,

He vse no circumstance : at LECCA's house,

The shop, and mint of your conspiracie,

Among your sword-men, where so many associates

Both of thy mischiefe, and thy madnesse, met.

Dar'st thou denie this ? wherefore art thou silent ?

Speake, and this shall conuince thee : Here they are,

242 thy] the 1716. 246 the fifth (the, etc.)] the fifth o' th'.

etc. W; the fifth o' the, etc. G. 252 a publique reed] the

public weal W.

F2

[788]

a45

86 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT IV

'7° I see, 'hem, in this Senate, that were with thee.

O, you immortall gods ! in what clime are we ?

What region doe we Hue in ? in what ayre ?

What common- wealth, or state is this we haue ?

Here, here, amongst vs, our owne number, Fathers,
275 In this most holy counsell of the world,

They are, that seeke the spoyle of me, of you,

Of ours, of all ; what I can name's too narrow :

Follow the sunne, and find not their ambition.

These I behold, being Consul} nay, I aske
380 Their counsells of the state, as from good Patriots :

Whom it were fit the axe should hew in prieces,

I not so much as wound, yet, with my voyce.

Thou wast, last night, with LECCA, CATILINE,

Your shares, of Italie, you there diuided ;
285 Appointed who, and whither, each should goe ;

What men should stay behind, in Rome, were chosen ;

Your offices set downe; the parts mark'd out,

And places of the citie, for the fire ;

Thy selfe (thou' affirmd'st) wast readie to depart,
29° Onely, a little let there was, that stay'd thee,

That I yet liu'd. Vpon the word, stept forth

Three of thy crew, to rid thee of that care ;

Two vnder-tooke this moining, before day,

To kill me in my bed. All this I knew,
29s Your conuent scarce dismiss 'd, arm'd all my seruants,

Call'd both my brother, and friends, shut out your
clients,

You sent to visite me ; whose names I told

To some there, of good place, before they came.

CATO. Yes, I, and QVINTVS CATVL VS can affirme it.
300 CAES. He's lost, and gone. His spirits haue for-
sooke him.

280 good] om. Q3. 295 conuent] covenant Q2. 296 your]
our Q2. 300 [Aside. S. N. — G.

ACT IV]

Catiline his Conspiracy

CIC. If this be so, why, CATILINE, do'st thou stay ?
Goe, where thou mean'st. The ports are open ; forth.
The campe abroad wants thee, their chiefe, too long.
Lead with thee all thy troupes out. Purge the citie.
Draw drie that noysome, and pernicious sinke, 305

Which left, behind thee, would infect the world. [784]

Thou wilt free me of all my feares at once,
To see a wall betweene vs. Do'st thou stop
To doe that now, commanded ; which before,
Of thine owne choice, thou'rt prone to ? Goe. The 3«<>

Consul

Bids thee, an enemie, to depart the citie.
Whither, thou'lt aske ? to exile ? I not bid
Thee that. But aske my counsell, I perswade it.
What is there, here, in Rome, that can delight thee ?
Where not a soule, without thine owne foule knot, 315
But feares, and hates thee. What domesticke note
Of priuate filthinesse, but is burnt in
Into thy life ? What close, and secret shame,
But is growne one, with thy knowne infamy ?
What lust was euer absent from thine eyes ? 320

What leud fact from thy hands ? what wickednesse
From thy whole body ? where 's that youth drawne in
Within thy nets, or catch'd vp with thy baits,
Before whose rage, thou hast not borne a sword,
And to whose lusts thou hast not 'held a torch ? 3a5

Thy latter nuptialls I let passe in silence;
Where sinnes incredible, on sinnes, were heap't :
Which I not name, lest, in a ciuill state,
So monstrous facts should either appeare to be,
Or not to be reueng'd. Thy fortunes, too, 330

I glance not at, which hang but till next Ides.
I come to that which is more knowne, more publike ;

319 thy knowne] thine own G.

326 latter] later 1716, W.

88 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT IV

The life, and safetie of vs all, by thee
[735] Threatned, and sought. Stood'st thou not in the field,

335 When LEPIDVS, and TVLLVS were our Consuls,
Vpon the day of choice, arm'd, and with forces,
To take their Hues, and our chief e citizens ?
When, not thy feare, nor conscience chang'd thy mind,
But the meere fortune of the common-wealth

340 With-stood thy actiue malice ? Speake but right.
How often hast thou made attempt on me ?
How many of thy assaults haue I declin'd
With shifting but my body (as wee 'Id say)
Wrested thy dagger from thy hand, how oft ?

345 How often hath it falne, or slip't by chance ?
Yet, can thy side not want it : which, how vow'd,
Or with what rites, 'tis sacred of thee, I know not,
That still thou mak'st it a necessitie,
To fixe it in the body of a Consul.

350 But let me loose this way, and speake to thee,
Not as one mou'd with hatred, which I ought,
But pitty, of which none is owing thee.
CAT. No more then vnto TANTALVS, or TITYVS.
CIC. Thou cam'st, e're-while, into this Senate. Who

355 Of such a frequency, so many friends,
And kindred thou hast here, saluted thee ?
Were not the seates made bare, vpon thy entrance ?
Riss' not the consular men ? and left their places,
So soone as thou sat'st downe ? and fled thy side,

36° Like to a plague, or ruine ? knowing, how oft

They had beene, by thee, mark'd out for the shambles ?
How dost thou beare this ? Surely, if my slaues
At home fear'd me, with halfe th'affright, and horror,
That, here, thy fellow-citizens doe thee,

358 Riss'] Risse G; ris'd Q2. 361 they had beene, by

thee,] they had by thee been W, G.

ACT IV]

Catiline his Conspiracy

89

ITS

I should soone quit my house, and thinke it need too.

Yet thou dar'st tarry here? Goe forth, at last;

Condemne thy selfe to flight, and solitude.

Discharge the common- wealth, of hei deepe feare.

Goe ; into banishment, if thou wait'st the word.

Why do'st thou looke ? They all consent vnto it.

Do'st thou expect th'authoritie of their voyces,

Whose silent wills condemne thee ? While they sit,

They approue it ; while they suffer it, they decree it ;

And while they'are silent to it, they proclaime it.

Proue thou there honest, He endure the enuie.

But there's no thought, thou should'st be euer he,

Whom either shame should call from filthinesse,

Terror from danger, or discourse from furie.

Goe ; I intreat thee : yet, why doe I so ?

When I alreadie know, they'are sent afore,

That tarry for thee 'in armes, and doe expect thee

On th'AVRELIAN way. I know the day

Set downe, 'twixt thee, and MANLIVS ; vnto whom

The siluer eagle too is sent, before :

Which I doe hope shall proue, to thee as banefull,

As thou conceiu'st it to the common-wealth.

But, may this wise, and sacred Senate say,

What mean'st thou MARCVS TVLLIVS ? If thou

know'st

That CATILINE be look'd for, to be chiefe
Of an intestine warre; that he'is the author
Of such a wickednesse ; the caller out
Of men of marke in mischief e, to an action
Of so much horror ; Prince of such a treason ;
Why do'st thou send him forth ? why let him scape ?
This is, to giue him libertie, and power: 395

Rather, thou should'st lay hold vpon him, send him

L736]

its

390

369 thou] thou thou Q3-

382 th'] the Q2, G.

90 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT IV

To deseru'd death, and a iust punishment.
To these so holy voices, thus I answere.
If I did thinke it timely, Conscript Fathers,

4°° To punish him with death, I would not giue
The Fencer vse of one short houre, to breath ;
But when there are in this graue order, some,
Who, with soft censures, still doe nource his hopes ;
Some, that with not beleeuing, haue confirm'd

405 His designes more, and whose authoritie

The weaker, as the worst men, too, haue followed :
I would now send him, where they all should see
Cleere, as the light, his heart shine; where no man
Could be so wickedly, or fondly stupide,

41° But should cry out, he saw, touch'd, felt, and grasp't it.
Then, when he hath runne out himself e ; led forth
His desp'rate partie with him ; blowne together
Aides of all kindes, both ship wrack'd mindes and fortunes :
Not onely the growne euill, that now is sprung,

4<s And sprouted forth, would be pluck'd vp, and weeded ;
But the stocke, roote, and seed of all the mischiefes,
Choking the common- wealth. Where, should we take,
Of such a swarme of traytors, onely him,
Our cares, and feares might seeme a while relieu'd,

4«o But the maine perill would bide still enclos'd
Deepe, in the veines, and bowells of the state.
As humane bodies, labouring with feuers,
While they are tost with heate, if they doe take
[737] Cold water, seeme for that short space much eas'd,

425 But afterward, are ten times more afflicted.
Wherefore, I say, let all this wicked crew
Depart, diuide themselues from good men, gather
Their forces to one head; as I said oft,
Let 'hem be seuer'd from vs with a wall;

430 Let 'hem leaue off attempts, vpon the Consul,
In his owne house; to circle in the Praetor;

ACT IV]

Catiline his Conspiracy

440

14!

To girt the court with weapons ; to prepare

Fire, and balls, swords, torches, sulphure, brands :

In short, let it be writ in each mans fore-head

What thoughts he beares the publike. I here promise, 435

Fathers Conscript, to you, and to my selfe,

That diligence in vs Consuls, for my honor'd

Colleague, abroad, and for my selfe, at home ;

So great authoritie in you ; so much

Vertue, in these, the gentlemen of Rome]

Whom I could scarce restraine to day, in zeale,

From seeking out the parricide, to slaughter ;

So much consent in all good men, and minds,

As, on the going out of this one CATILINE,

All shall be cleere, made plaine, oppres'd, reueng'd.

And, with this omen, goe, pernicious plague,

Out of the citie, to the wish'd destruction

Of thee, and those, that, to the mine of her,

Haue tane that bloudie, and black sacrament.

Thou IVPITER, whom we doe call the STAYER,

Both of this citie, and this empire, wilt

(With the same auspice thou didst raise it first)

Driue from thy altars, and all other temples,

And buildings of this citie ; from our walls ;

Liues, states, and fortunes of our citizens;

This fiend, this furie, with his complices.

And all the 'offence good men (these knowne tray tors

Vnto their countrey, theeues of Italie,

loyn'd in so damn'd a league of mischief e) thou

Wilt with perpetuall plagues, aliue, and dead,

Punish for Rome, and saue her innocent head.

CATI. If an oration, or high language, Fathers,
Could make me guiltie, here is one, hath done it :
H'has stroue to emulate this mornings thunder,

450

159

460

432 girt] gird 1716, W, G.

92 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT IV

465 With his prodigious rhetoricke. But I hope,
This Senate is more graue, then to giue credit
Rashly to all he vomits, 'gainst a man
Of your owne order, a Patrician ;
[7 38] And one, whose ancestors haue more deseru'd
470 Of Rome, then this mans eloquence could vtter,
Turn'd the best way: as still, it is the worst.

CATO. His eloquence hath more deseru'd to day,
Speaking thy ill, then all thy ancestors
Did, in their good : and, that the state will find,
475 Which he hath sau'd. CATI. How, he ? were I that

enemie,

That he would make me : Il'd not wish state
More wretched, then to need his preseruation.
What doe you make him, CATO, such a HERCVLES ?
An ATLAS ? A poore petty in-mate ! CATO. Traytor
480 CATI. He saue the state ? A burgesse sonne of

Arpinum.

The gods would rather twentie Romes should perish,
Then haue that contumely stucke vpon 'hem,
That he should share with them, in the preseruing
A shed, or signe-post. CATO. Peace, thou prodigie.
4gs CATI. They would be forc'd themselues, againe, and

lost

In the first, rude, and indigested heape;
Ere such a wretched name, as CICERO,
Should sound with theirs. CATV. Away, thou impu
dent head.

CATI. Doe you all backe him ? are you silent too ?
49° Well, I will leaue you, Fathers ; I will goe.
He turnes But my fine daintie speaker CIC. What now,

sodainly on J

Cicero.

467 he] the 1692; om. Q2. 485 forc'd] runne Qi, Q2.

Marginal direction om. Qi, Q2 ; inserted as S. N. by G.

ACT IV]

Catiline his Conspiracy

93

Wilt thou assault me here ? (CHO. Helpe, aide the

Consul.)
CATI. See, Fathers, laugh you not ? who threatned

him ?

In vaine thou do'st conceiue, ambitious orator,
Hope of so braue a death, as by this hand. 495

(CATO. Out, of the court, with the pernicious

tray tor.)

CATI. There is no title, that this flattering Senate,
Nor honor, the base multitude can giue thee,
Shall make thee worthy CATILINES anger. (CATO.

Stop,

Stop that portentous mouth.) CATI. Or, when it shall, 500
He looke thee dead. CATO. Will none restraine the

monster ?
CATV. Parricide. QVI. Butcher, traytor, leaue the

Senate.
CATI. Fam gone, to banishment, to please you,

Fathers.

Thrust head-long forth ? CATO. Still, do'st thou
murmure, monster ?

CATI. Since, I am thus put out, and made a 5°5

CIC. What?
CATV. Not guiltier then thou art. CATI. I will

not burne
Without my funerall pile. CATO. What saies the

fiend?
CATI. I will haue matter, timber. CATO. Sing

out scrich owle.

CATI. It shall be in— CATV. Speake thy imper
fect thoughts.
CATI. The common fire, rather then mine owne. 5«>

492 CHO.] Omnes G.

495 this] his Q3.

94 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT IV

For fall I will with all, ere fall alone.

CRA. H'is lost, there is no hope of him. CAES.

Vnlesse

He presently take armes ; and giue a blow,
[739] Before the Consuls forces can be leui'd.

s's CIC. What is your pleasure, Fathers, shall be done ?
CATV. See, that the common- wealth receiue no losse.
CATO. Commit the care thereof vnto the Consuls.
CRA. Tistime. CAES. And need. CIC. Thankes

to this frequent Senate.
But what decree they, vnto CVRIVS,
s«° And FVLVIA ? CATV. What the Consul shall thinke

meete.
CIC. They must receiue reward, though't be not

knowne ;
Lest when a state needs ministers, they ha' none.

CATO. Yet, MARCVS TVLLIVS, doe not I beleeue,
But CRASSVS, and this CAESAR here ring hollow.
5*5 CIC. And would appeare so, it that we durst proue

'hem.

CATO. Why dare we not ? What honest act is that,
/ The Roman Senate should not dare, and doe ?

CIC. Not an vnprofitable, dangerous act,
To stirre too many serpents vp at once.
530 CAESAR, and CRASSVS, if they be ill men,
Are mightie ones ; and, we must so prouide,
That, while we take one head, from this foule Hydra,
There spring not t wen tie more. CATO. I 'proue your

counsell.

CIC. They shall be watch'd, and look'd too. Till
they doe

511 [Rushes out of the Senate. S. N. — G. alone.] alone : Fi, F2.
512 [Aside to Caesar. S. N. — G. 518 CAES. [Goes aside

with Crassus. S. N. — G. 533 'proue] 'approve 1716; approve

W, G. 534 too] to Q3, G.

ACT IV]

Catiline his Conspiracy

95

Declare themselues, I will not put 'hem out
By any question. There they stand. He make
My selfe no enemies, nor the state no traytors.

CATILINE, LENTVLVS, CETHEGVS, CV-

RIVS, GABINIVS, LONGINVS,

STATILIVS.

FAlse to our selues ? All our designes discouer'd
To this state-cat ? GET. I, had I had my way,
He* had mew'd in flames, at home, not i' the Senate : 540
F had sing'd his furres, by this time. CAT. Well,

there's, now,

No time of calling backe, or standing still.
Friends, be your selues ; keepe the same Roman hearts,
And readie minds, you' had yester-night. Prepare
To execute, what we resolu'd. And let not 545

Labour, or danger, or discouerie fright you.
lie to the armie : you (the while) mature
Things, here, at home. Draw to you any aides,
That you thinke fit, of men of all conditions,
Or any fortunes, that may helpe a warre. 550

lie bleede a life, or winne an empire for you.
Within these few dayes, looke to see my ensignes,
Here, at the walls : Be you but firme within. [740]

Meane time, to draw an enuy on the Consul,
And giue a lesse suspicion of our course,
Let it be giuen out, here in the citie,
That I am gone, an innocent man, to exile,
Into Massilia, willing to giue way
To fortune, and the times; being vnable
To stand so great a faction, without troubling 560

537 traytors] traytor Q3. [Exeunt. S. N. — G. SCENE III.

Catiline's House. Enter CATILINE, &c. S. D. — G 550 Or] O(

1640, 1692, 1716, W, G. 560 a] om. 1716.

96 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT IV

The common- wealth : whose peace I rather seeke,
Then all the glory of contention,
Or the support of mine owne innocence.
Farewell the noble LENTVLVS, LONGINVS,
5*5 CVRIVS, the rest ; and thou, my better Genius,
The braue CETHEGVS : when we meete againe,
Wee '11 sacrifice to libertie. GET. And reuenge.
That we may praise our hands once. LEN. O, you

Fates,

Giue Fortune now her eyes, to see with whom
57° Shee goes along, that shee may ne're forsake him.

CVR. He needs not her, nor them. Goe but on,

SERGIVS.

A valiant man is his owne fate, and fortune.
LON. The fate, and fortune of vs all goe with him.
GAB. STA. And euer guard him. CAT. I am all

your creature.

575 LEN. Now friends, 'tis left with vs. I haue alreadie
Dealt, by VMBRENVS, with the ALLOBROGES,
Here resiant in Rome; whose state I heare,
Is discontent with the great vsuries,
They are oppress 'd with : and haue made complaints
58° Diuers, vnto the Senate, but all vaine.

These men, I 'haue thought (both for their owne oppres
sions,

As also that, by nature, they'are a people
Warlike, and fierce, still watching after change,
And now, in present hatred with our state)
58s The fittest, and the easiest to be drawne
To our societie, and to aide the warre.
The rather, for their seate ; being next bordrers
On Italic ; and that they'abound with horse :
Of which one want our campe doth onely labour.

574 [Exit. S. N. — G. 576 resiant] residant Q2.

ACT 1VJ

Catiline his Conspiracy

97

And I haue found 'hem comming. They will meete 590
Soone, at SEMPRONIA'S house, where I would pray you
All to be present, to confirme 'hem more.
The sight of such spirits hurt not, nor the store.
GAB. I will not faile. STA. Nor I. CVR. Nor

I. GET. Would I

Had somewhat by my selfe, apart, to doe. 595

I' ha' no Genius to these many counsells.
Let me kill all the Senate, for my share, [741]

He doe it at next sitting. LEN. Worthy CAIVS,
Your presence will adde much. GET. I shall marre

more.

CICERO, SANGA, ALLOBROGES.

600

THe state's beholden to you, FABIVS SANGA,
For this great care : And those ALLOBROGES
Are more then wretched, if they lend a listning
To such perswasion. SAN. They, most worthy Consul,
As men employ 'd here, from a grieued state,
Groning beneath a multitude of wrongs,
And being told, there was small hope of ease
To be expected, to their euills, from hence,
Were willing, at the first to giue an eare
To any thing, that sounded libertie :
But since, on better thoughts, and my vrg'd reasons,
They 'are come about, and wonne, to the true side.
The fortune of the common- wealth hath conquer 'd.

CIC. What is that same VMBRENVS, was the
agent ?

SAN. One that hath had negotiation
In Gallia oft, and knowne vnto their state. 6ls

610

596 I* ha'] I have G. 599 [Exeunt. S. N. — G. SCENE IV.
The House of Brutus. Enter CICERO and SANGA. S. D. — G.

98 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT IV

CIC. Are th' Ambassadors come with you ? SAN.

Yes.
CIC. Well, bring 'hem in, if they be firme, and

honest,

Neuer had men the meanes so to deserue
Of Rome, as they. A happy, wish'd occasion
6ao And thrust into my hands, for the discouery,
The And manifest conuiction of these tray tors.
«,JT*Be thank'd, 6 IVPITER. My worthy lords,
Confederates of the Senate, you are welcome.
I vnderstand by QVINTVS FABIVS SANGA,
6*5 Your carefull patron here, you haue beene lately
Sollicited against the common- wealth,
By one VMBRENVS (take a seate, I pray you)
From PVBLIVS LENTVLVS, to be associates
In their intended warre. I could aduise,
6s° That men, whose fortunes are yet flourishing,

And are Romes friends, would not, without a cause,
Become her enemies ; and mixe themselues
And their estates, with the lost hopes of CATILINE,
Or LENTVLVS, whose meere despaire doth arme 'hem :
635 That were to hazard certainties, for aire,
And vnder-goe all danger, for a voice.
Beleeue me, friends, loud tumults are not laid
With halfe the easinesse, that they are rais'd.
[742] All may beginne a warre, but few can end it.
64° The Senate haue decreed, that my colleague
Shall leade their armie, against CATILINE,
And haue declar'd both him, and MANLIVS traytors.
METELLVS CELER hath alreadie giuen
Part of their troops defeate. Honors are promis'd

619 [Exit Sanga.] S. N. — G. Marginal direction missing

in QJ» Q2, 1716. 621 Conuiction] Conjunction Cj2. 622

Re-enter SANGA with the Allobrogian Ambassadors. S. D. — G.

ACT IV] Catiline his Conspiracy 99

To all, will quit 'hem ; and rewards proposed 64$

Euen to slaues, that can detect their courses.

Here, in the citie, I haue by the Praetors,

And Tribunes, plac'd my guards, and watches so,

That not a foote can treade, a breath can whisper,

But I haue knowledge. And be sure, the Senate, 65o

And people of Rome, of their accustom M greatnesse,

Will sharply, and seuerely vindicate,

Not onely any fact, but any practice,

Or purpose, 'gainst the state. Therefore, my lords,

Consult of your owne wayes, and thinke which hand 655

Is best to take. You, now, are present suters

For some redresse of wrongs ; He vnder-take

Not onely that shall be assur'd you ; but

What grace, or priuiledge else, Senate, or people,

Can cast vpon you, worthy such a seruice, 660

As you haue now the way, and meanes, to doe 'hem

If but your wills consent, with my designes.

ALL. We couet nothing more, most worthy Consul.
And how so e're we haue beene tempted lately,
To a defection, that not makes vs guiltie : ««s

We are not yet so wretched in our fortunes,
Nor in our wills so lost, as to abandon
A friendship, prodigally, of that price,
As is the Senate, and the people of Romes,
For hopes, that doe precipitate themselues. 67o

CIC. You then are wise, and honest. Doe but

this, then :
(When shall you speake with LENTVLVS, and the rest ?

ALL. We are to meete anone, at BRVTVS house.

CIC. Who? DECIVS BRVTVS? He is not in
Rome.

663 ALL.] i Amb. G. 665 not] now 1716, W.

669 Senate] Senate's 1716, W. 673 ALL.] i Amb. G.

ioo Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT VI

675 SAN. O, but his wife SEMPRONIA. CIC. You

instruct me,

Shee is a chiefe) Well, faile not you to meete 'hem,
And to expresse the best affection
You can put on, to all that they intend.
Like it, applaud it, giue the common- wealth,

680 And Senate lost to 'hem. Promise any aides
By armes, or counsell. What they can desire,
I would haue you preuent. Onely, say this,
You'haue had dispatch, in priuate, by the Consul,
[743] Of your affaires, and for the many feares

685 The state's now in, you are will'd by him, this euening,
To depart Rome : which you, by all sought meanes,
Will doe, of reason to decline suspicion.
Now, for the more authoritie of the businesse
They 'haue trust d to you, and to giue it credit

69° With your owne state, at home, you would desire
Their letters to your Senate, and your people,
Which shewne, you durst engage both life, and honor,
The rest should euery way answere their hopes.
Those had, pretend sodaine departure, you,

695 And, as you giue me notice, at what port
You will goe out, He ha' you intercepted,
And all the letters taken with you : So
As you shall be redeem 'd in all opinions,
And they conuicted of their manifest treason.

700 111 deedes are well tuin'd backe, vpon their authors :
And 'gainst an iniurer, the reuenge is iust.
This must be done, now. ALL. Chearefully, and firmely.
We 'are they, would rather hast to vndertake it,
Then stay, to say so. CIC. With that confidence, goe :

705 Make your selues happy, while you make Rome so.
By SANGA, let me haue notice from you. ALL. Yes.

702 ALL.] i Amb. G.

706 ALL.] i Amb. G. [Exeunt. S. N. — G.

ACT IV] Catiline his Conspiracy 101

SEMPRONIA, LENTVLVS, CETHEGVS, GA-

BINIVS, STATILIVS, LONGINVS, VOL-

TVRTIVS, ALLOBROGES.

WHen come these creatures, the Ambassadors ?
I would faine see 'hem. Are they any schollers ?

LEN. I think not, madame. SEM. Ha' they no
greeke ? LEM. No surely.

SEM. Fie, what doe I here, wayting on 'hem then ? ?10
If they be nothing but meere states-men. LEN. Yes,
Your ladiship shall obserue their grauitie,
And their reseruednesse, their many cautions,
Fitting their persons. SEM. I doe wonder much,
That states, and common-wealths employ not women, ***
To be Ambassadors, sometimes ! we should
Doe as good publike seruice, and could make
As honorable spies (for so THVCIDIDES
Calls all Ambassadors.) Are they come, CETHEGVS ?

CET. Doe you aske me ? Am I your scout, or baud ? 73°
LEN. O, CAIVS, it is no such businesse. CET. No ?
What do's a woman at it then ? SEM. Good sir,
There are of vs can be as exquisite traytors,
As ere a male-conspirator of you all.

CET. I, at smock treason, matron, I beleeue you ; 7as
And if I were your husband; but when I
Trust to your cob-web-bosomes any other
Let me there die a flie, and feast you, spider,

LEN. You are too sowre, and harsh CETHEGVS.

CET. You

Are kind, and courtly. Il'd be torne in pieces,
With wild HIPPOLYTVS, nay proue the death,
Euery limbe ouer, e're Il'd trust a woman,

SCENE V. A Room in Brutus' (Sempronia's) House. Enter
SEMPRONIA and LENTULUS. S. D. — G. 719 Enter CETHEG-

us. S. D. — G.

G2

IO2 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT IV

With wind, could I retaine it. SEM. Sir. They'll be

trusted

With as good secrets, yet, as you haue any :
735 And carry 'hem too, as close, and as conceal'd,

As you shall for your heart. GET. He not contend with

you
Either in tongue, or carriage, good CALIPSO.

LON. Th'ambassadors are come. GET. Thanks to

thee MERCVRY,
That so hast rescu'd me. LEN. How now, VOLTVR-

TIVS?
VOL. They doe desire some speech with you, in

priuate.

LEN. O ! 'tis about the prophecie, belike,
[744] And promise of the SIBYLLS. GAB. It may be.

SEM. Shun they, to treat with me, too ? GAB.

No, good lady,

You may partake : I haue told 'hem, who you are.
745 SEM. I should be loth to be left out, and here too.

GET. Can these, or such, be any aides, to vs ?
Looke they, as they were built to shake the world,
Or be a moment, to our enterprise ?
A thousand, such as they are, could not make
750 One atome of our soules. They should be men
Worth heauens feare, that looking vp, but thus,
Would make IOVE stand vpon his guard, and draw
Himselfe within his thunder; which, amaz'd,
He should discharge in vaine, and they vn-hurt.
755 Or, if they were, like CAPANEVS, at Thebes,
They should hang dead vpon the highest spires,
And aske the second bolt, to be throwne downe.

737 Enter LONGINUS. S. D. — G. GALIPSO.] CALIPSO : Fi, F2.
739 Enter VOLTURTIUS, STATILIUS, and GABINIUS, with the Allo-
brogian Ambassadors. S. D. — G. 742 [He takes them apart.

S. N. — G. 757 bolt] charge Qi, Q2.

ACT IV]

Catiline his Conspiracy

103

Why, LENTVLVS, talke you so long ? This time
Had beene enough, t'haue scatter'd all the starres,
T'haue quench'd the sunne, and moone, and made the

world 760

Despaire of day, or any light, but ours.

LEN. How doe you like this spirit ? In such men,
Mankind doth liue. They are such soules, as these,
That moue the world. SEM. I, though he beare me

hard,

I, yet, must doe him right. He is a spirit 765

Of the right MARTIAN breed. ALL. He is a MARS !
Would we had time to liue here, and admire him.

LEN. Well, I doe see you would preuent the Consul.
And I commend your care : It was but reason, [745]

To aske our letters, and we had prepared them. 770

Goe in, and we will take an oath, and seale 'hem.
You shall haue letters, too, to CATILINE,
To visite him i' the way, and to confirme
The association. This our friend, VOLTVRTIVS,
Shall goe along with you. Tell our great generall, 775
That we are readie here ; that LVCIVS BESTIA
The Tribune, is prouided of a speech,
To lay the enuie of the warre on CICERO ;
That all but long for his approach, and person :
And then, you are made free-men, as our selues. 780

CICERO, FLACCVS, POMTINIVS,
SANGA.

I Cannot feare the warre but to succeed well,
Both for the honor of the cause, and worth
Of him that doth command. For my colleague,

764 SEM.] SEN. Fi, F2. 766 ALL.] I Amb. G. 780

[Exeunt. S. N. — G. SC.ENE VI. A Room in Cicero's House.

Enter CICERO, FLACCUS and POMTINIUS. S. D. — G.

104 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT iv

Being so ill affected with the gout,

785 Will not be able to be there in person ;
And then PETREIVS, his lieutenant must
Of need take charge o' the armie : who is much
The better souldier, hauing beene a Tribune,
Prefect, Lieutenant, Praetor in the warre,

79° These thirtie yeeres, so conuersant i' the armie,
As he knowes all the souldiers, by their names.
FLA. They'll fight then, brauely, with him. POM.

I, and he

Will lead 'hem on, as brauely. CIC. They'haue a foe
Will aske their braueries, whose necessities

795 Will arme him like a furie. But, how euer,
I'le trust it to the manage, and the fortune
Of good PETREIVS, who's a worthy patriot :
METELLVS CELER, with three legions, too,
Will stop their course, for Gallia. How now, FABIVS ?

800 SAN. The traine hath taken. You must instantly
Dispose your guards vpon the Miluian bridge :
For, by that way, they meane to come. CIC. Then,

thither

POMTINIVS, and FLACCVS, I must pray you
To lead that force you haue ; and seize them all :

8o5 Let not a person scape. Th 'ambassadors

Will yeeld themselues. If there be any tumult
He send you aide. I, in meane time will call
LENTVLVS to me, GABINIVS, and CETHEGVS,
STATILIVS, CEPARIVS, and all these,
[746] a 10 By seuerall messengers : who no doubt will come,
Without sense, or suspicion. Prodigall men
Feele not their owne stocke wasting. When I haue 'hem,
He place those guards, vpon 'hem, that they start not.

789 in] into Q$. 799 Enter FABIUS SANGA. S. D. — G.

807 [Exeunt FLACCUS and POMTINIUS.] S. N. — G.

ACT IVJ

Catiline his Conspiracy

105

SAN. But what'll you doe with SEMPRONIA ?

CIC. A states anger

Should not take knowledge eyther of fooles, or women. 8«s
I do not know whether my ioy or care
Ought to be greater ; that I haue discouer'd
So foule a treason : or must vndergoe
The enuie of so many great mens fate.
But, happen what there can, I will be iust, «»<>

My fortune may forsake me, not my vertue :
That shall goe with me, and before me, still,
And glad me, doing well, though I heare ill.

PRAETORS, ALLOBROGES, VOL-
TVRTIVS.

FLA. Stand, who goes there ? ALL. We are th'
ALLOBROGES

And friends of Rome. POM. If you be so, then yeeld 8j5
Your selues vnto the Praetors, who in name
Of the whole Senate, and the people of Rome,
Yet, till you cleare your selues, charge you of practise
Against the State. VOL. Die friends, and be not taken.
FLA. What voyce is that ? Downe with 'hem all.

ALL. We yeeld. 8,0

POM. What's he stands out? Kill him there. VOL.

Hold, hold, hold.

I yeeld vpon conditions. FLA. We giue none
To traytors, strike him downe. VOL. My name's

VOLTVRTIVS

I know POMTINIVS. POM. But he knowes not you,
While you stand out vpon these trayterous termes. 835

814 a states anger] a state Qi. Cj2. 823 [Exeunt. S. N. — G.

SCENE VII. The Milvian Bridge. Enter FLACCUS and POM-
TINIUS, with guards, on one side, and VOLTURTIUS with the Allo-
brogian Ambassadors, on the other. S. D. — G. 824 ALL.] I

Amb. G. 830 ALL.] i Amb. G. ; ALL: Fi, F2.

106 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT IV

VOL. I'le yeeld vpon the safety of my life.

POM. If it be forfeyted, we cannot saue it.

VOL. Promise to doe your best. I 'am not so guilty,
As many others, I can name ; and will :
If you will grant me favour. POM. All we can
Is to deliuer you to the Consul. Take him,
And thanke the gods, that thus haue saued Rome.

N'

CHORVS.

Ow, do our eares, before our eyes,

Like men in mists,
845 Discouer, who 'Id the state surprise,

And who resists ?
And, as these clouds doe yeeld to light,

Now, do we see,

Our thoughts of things, how they did fight,
85o Which seem'd t' agree ?

[747] Of what strange pieces are we made,

Who nothing know;
But, as new ayres our eares inuade,

Still censure so ?
855 That now doe hope, and noe doe feare,

And now enuy;
And then doe hate, and then loue deare,

But know not, why :
Or, if we doe, it is so late,
860 As our best mood,

Though true, is then thought out of date,

And emptie of good.
How haue we chang'd, and come about
In euery doome,

842 Exeunt.] S. N. — G. G divides Chorus into 4— line

stanzas.

ACT IV]

Catiline his Conspiracy

107

Since wicked CATILINE went out,

And quitted Rome ?
One while, we thought him innocent ;

And, then w'accus'd
The Consul, for his malice spent ;

And power abus'd.
Since, that we heare, he is in armes,

We thinke not so :
Yet charge the Consul, with our harmes,

That let him goe.
So, in our censure of the state,

We still doe wander;
And make the carefull magistrate

The marke of slander.
What age is this, where honest men,

Plac'd at the helme,
A sea of some foule mouth, or pen,

Shall ouer-whelme ?
And call their diligence, deceipt ;

Their vertue, vice ;
Their watchfulnesse, but lying in wait ;

And bloud, the price.
O, let vs plucke this euill seede

Out of our spirits ;
And giue, to euery noble deede,

The name it merits.
Lest we seeme fame (if this endures)

Into those times,
To loue disease : and brooke the cures

Worse, then the crimes.

863

375

890

I

io8 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT V

ACT V.

PETREIVS.

[748] The armie.

T is my fortune, and my glorie, Souldiers,
This day, to lead you on ; the worthy Consul
Kept from the honor of it, by disease :
And I am proud, to haue so braue a cause
5 To exercise your armes in. We not, now,
Fight for how long, how broad, how great, and large
Th'extent, and bounds o' th'people of Rome shall be ;
But to retaine what our great ancestors,
With all their labours, counsells, arts, and actions,

10 For vs, were purchasing so many yeeres.
The quarrell is not, now, of fame, of tribute,
Or of wrongs, done vnto confederates,
For which, the armie of the people of Rome
Was wont to moue : but for your owne republique,

xs For the rais'd temples of th'immortall gods,
For all your fortunes, altars, and your fires,
For the deare soules of your lou'd wiues, and children,
Your parents tombes, your rites, lawes, libertie,
And, briefly, for the safety of the world :

20 Against such men, as onely by their crimes
Are knowne ; thrust out by riot, want, or rashnesse.
One sort, SYLLA'S old troops, left here in Fesulae,
Who sodainely made rich, in those dire times,
Are since, by their vn-bounded, vast expence,

2? Growne needy, and poore : and haue but left t 'expect,
From CATILINE, new bills, and new proscriptions.
These men (they say) are valiant ; yet, I thinke 'hem

ACT V. SCENE I. Etruria. The Country near Fesulae.
Enter PETREIUS, marching, at the head of his Army. S. D. — G.
Marginal direction om. Qi, Q2. 16 Entire line missing in CJ3.

ACT V]

Catiline his Conspiracy

109

1 1

Not worth your pause : For either their old vertue

Is, in their sloth, and pleasures lost ; or, if

It tarry with 'hem, so ill match to yours,

As they are short in number, or in cause.

The second sort are of those (city-beasts,

Rather then citizens) who whilst they reach

After our fortunes, haue let flie their owne;

These, whelm'd in wine, swell'd vp with meates, and

weakned

With hourely whoredomes, neuer left the side
Of CATILINE, in Rome; nor, here, are loos'd
From his embraces : such; as (trust me) neuer
In riding, or in vsing well their armes,
Watching, or other militarie labour,
Did exercise their youth ; but learn 'd to loue,
Drinke, dance, and sing, make feasts, and be fine gamsters : [749]
And these will wish more hurt to you, then they bring you.
The rest are a mixt kind, all sorts of furies,
Adulterers, dicers, fencers, out-lawes, theeues,
The murderers of their parents, all the sinke,
And plague of Italic, met in one torrent,
To take, to day, from vs the punishment,
Due to their mischiefes, for so many yeeres.
And who, in such a cause, and 'gainst such fiends,
Would not now wish himselfe all arme, and weapon ?
To cut such poysons from the earth-, and let
Their bloud out, to be drawne away in cloudes,
And pour'd, on some inhabitable place,
Where the hot sunne, and slime breeds nought but

monsters ?

Chiefly, when this sure ioy shall crowne our side,
That the least man, that falls vpon our partie
This day (as some must giue their happy names
To fate, and that eternall memorie

44 all] of all Q2.

4.

no Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT V

60 Of the best death, writ with it, for their countrey)
Shall walke at pleasure, in the tents of rest ;
And see farre off, beneath him, all their host
Tormented after life : and CATILINE, there,
Walking a wretched, and lesse ghost, then he.
6s He vrge no more : Moue forward, with your eagles,
And trust the Senates, and Romes cause to heauen.
ARM. To thee, great father MARS, and greater
IOVE.

CAESAR, CRASSVS.

Euer look'd for this of LENTVLVS,

When CATILINE was gone. CRA. I gaue 'hem lost,

7° Many dayes since. CAES. But, wherefore did you

beare

Their letter to the Consul, that they sent you,
To warne you from the citie ? CRA. Did I know
Whether he made it ? It might come from him,
For ought I could assure me : if they meant,

75 1 should be safe, among so many, they might
Haue come, as well as writ. CAES. There is no losse
In being secure. I haue, of late, too, ply'd him
Thicke, with intelligences, but they'haue beene
Of things he knew before. CRA. A little serues

80 To keepe a man vpright, on these state-bridges,
Although the passage were more dangerous.
Let vs now take the standing part. CAES. We must,
And be as zealous for't, as CATO. Yet
I would faine helpe these wretched men. CRA. You
cannot.

8 s Who would saue them, that haue betraid themselues ?

67 ARM.] Omnes. G. [Exeunt. S. N.-G. SCENE II.

Rome. A street near the Temple of Concord. Enter CAESAR and
CRASSUS. S. D. — G. 85 [Exeunt. S. N. — G.

ACT V] Catiline his Conspiracy in

CICERO, QVINTVS, CATO.

T Will not be wrought to it, brother QVINTVS.

There's no mans priuate enmitie shall make
Me violate the dignitie of another.
If there were proofe 'gainst CAESAR, or who euer,
To speake him guiltie, I would so declare him.
But QVINTVS CATVLVS, and PISO both,
Shall know, the Consul will not, for their grudge,
Haue any man accus'd, or named falsly.

QVI. Not falsly : but if any circumstance,
By the ALLOBROGES, or from VOLTVRTIVS, 95

Would carry it. CIC. That shall not be sought by me.
If it reueale it selfe, I would not spare
You, brother, if it pointed at you, trust me.

CATO. Good MARCVS TVLLIVS (which is more,

then great)
Thou had'st thy education, with the gods. 100

CIC. Send LENTVLVS forth, and bring away the rest. [750]
This office, I am sorry, sir, to doe you.

THE SENATE.

WHat may be happy still, and fortunate,
To Rome, and to this Senate : Please you, Fathers,
To breake these letters, and to view them round.
If that be not found in them, which I feare,
I, yet, intreate, at such a time, as this,

SCENE III. Cicero's House. Enter CICERO, Q. CICERO, and
CATO. S. D. — G. 99 Qz closes line with more and opens next

line with Then. 102 [Exeunt. S. N.-G. SCENE IV.

The Temple of Concord. Enter Lictors, CICERO, (with letters.)
CATO, Q. CICERO, CAESAR, CRASSUS, SYLLANUS, and other Senators.
S. D. — G.

H2 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT V

My diligence be not contemn'd. Ha' you brought
The weapons hither, from CETHEGVS house ?

PRAE. They are without. CIC. Be readie, with

VOLTVRTIVS,

To bring him, when the Senate calls ; and see
None of the rest, conferre together. Fathers,
What doe you reade ? Is it yet worth your care,
If not your feare, what you find practis'd there ?
"5 CAES. It hath a face of horror! CRA. Fam

amaz'd !
CATO. Looke there. SYL. Gods ! Can such men

draw comon aire ?
CIC. Although the greatnesse of the mischiefe,

Fathers,

Hath often made my faith small, in this Senate,
Yet, since my casting CATILINE out (for now
120 1 doe not feare the enuy of the word,
Vnlesse the deed be rather to be fear'd,
That he went hence aliue ; when those I meant
Should follow him, did not) I haue spent both dayes,
And nights, in watching, what their fury' and rage
[751] "s Was bent on, that so staid, against my thought :
And that I might but take 'hem in that light,
Where, when you met their treason, with your eyes,
Your minds, at length, would thinke for your owne

safetie.

And, now, 'tis done. There are their hands, and scales.
'30 Their persons, too, are safe, thankes to the gods.
Bring in VOLTVRTIVS, and the' ALLOBROGES.
These be the men, were trusted with their letters.

108 [Gives the letters to the Senate. S. N. — G. Enter (the PYCB-
tors) FLACCUS and POMTINIUS. S. D. — G. 112 [Exeunt

PrtBtors.] S. N. — G. 125 staid] straid Q2. 131 Re-

enter Praetors, with VOLTURTIUS and the Allobrogian Ambassadors.
S. D.— G.

ACT V]

Catiline his Conspiracy

VOL. Fathers, beleeue me, I knew nothing : I
Was trauailing for Gallia, and am sorry —

CIC. Quake not, VOLTVRTIVS, speake the truth, ^

and hope
Well of this Senate, on the Consuls word.

VOL. Then, I knew all. But truely I was drawno in
But t'other day. CAES. Say, what thou know'st, and

feare not.

Thou hast the Senates faith, and Consuls word,
To fortifie thee. VOL. I was sent with letters— - MO
And had a message too— —from LENTVLVS—
To CATILINE that he should vse all aides ^££

Seruants, or others and come with his armie,

As soone, vnto the citie as he could—
For they were readie, and but staid for him —
To intercept those, that should flee the fire—
These men (the ALLOBROGES) did heare it too.

ALL. Yes, Fathers, and they tooke an oath, to vs.
Besides their letters, that we should be free ;
And vrg'd vs, for some present aide of horse.

CIC. Nay, here be other testimonies, Fathers,
CETHEGVS armourie. CRA. What, not all these ?

CIC. Here's not the hundred part. Call in the

Fencer,

That we may know the armes to all these weapons.
Come, my braue sword-player, to what active vse,
Was all this steele prouided ? CET. Had you ask'd
In SYLLA'S dayes, it had beene to cut throats;
But, now, it was to looke on, only : I lou'd
To see good blades, and feele their edge, and points.

ruption.

150

The -weapons
and armfs are
brought forth.

155

140 Marginal note om. Qi, Q2. [Speaks with fears and inter
ruptions.] S. N.-G. 148 ALL.] i Amb. G. 151 Marginal

note om. Qi, Q2. [The weapons and arms are brought in. S. N. — (-
156 Enter CETHEGUS, guarded. S. D. — G.

H4 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT v

160 To put a helme vpon a blocke, and cleaue it,
And, now, and then, to stab an armour through.
CIC. Know you that paper ? That will stab you

through.

Is it your hand ? Hold, saue the pieces. Tray tor,
Hath thy guilt wak'd thy furie ? GET. I did write,
'65 I know not what ; nor care not : That foole LENTVLVS
Did dictate, and I t'other foole, did signe it.

CIC. Bring in STATILIVS : Do's he know his hand

too?

And LENTVLVS. Reach him that letter. STA. I
Confesse it all. CIC. Know you that seale yet, PVB-

LIVS?

LEN. Yes, it is mine. CIC. Whose image is that,
[752] '70 on it ?

LEN. My grand-fathers. CIC. What, that renowm'd

good man,

That did so only' embrace his countrey', and lou'd
His fellow citizens ! Was not his picture,
Though mute, of power to call thee from a fact,
'75 So foule— —LEN. As what, impetuous CICERO ?

CIC. As thou art, for I doe not know what's fouler.
Looke vpon these. Doe not these faces argue
Thy guilt, and impudence ? LEN. What are these

to me ?
I know 'hem not. ALL. No PVBLIVS ? we were

with you,

At BRVTVS house. VOL. Last night. LEN. What
180 did you there ?

Who sent for you ? All. Your selfe did. We had letters

163 [Cethegus tears the letters] S. N. — G. 168 Enter

STATILIUS and P. LENTULUS, guarded. S. D. — G. 170 Whose

image, etc.] Q2 omits and misprints last half of 171 in place.
I77 [Points to the Allobrogian Ambassadors.] S. N. — G. 179 ALL.]
i Amb. G. So also at 181.

ACT V]

Catiline his Conspiracy

From you, CETHEGVS', this STATILIVS here,
GABINIVS CIMBER, all, but from LONGINVS,
Who would not write, because he was to come
Shortly, in person, after vs (he said) 185

To take the charge o' the horse, which we should leuy.

CIC. And he is fled, to CATILINE, I heare.

LEN. Spies ? spies ? ALL. You told vs too, o' the

SIBYLLS bookes,

And how you were to be a king, this yeere,
The twentieth, from the burning of the Capitoll. 190

That three CORNELII were to raigne, in Rome,
Of which you were the last : and prais'd CETHEGVS,
And the great spirits, were with you, in the action.

CET. These are your honorable Ambassadors,
My soueraigne lord. CAT. Peace, that too bold

CETHEGVS. .95

ALL. Besides GABINIVS, your agent, nam'd
AVTRONIVS, SERVIVS SVLLA, VARGVNTEIVS,
And diuers others. VOL. I had letters from you,
To CATILINE, and a message, which Fhaue told
Vnto the Senate, truely, word for word :
For which, I hope, they will be gracious to me.
I was drawne in, by that same wicked CIMBER,
And thought no hurt at all. CIC. VOLTVRTIVS,

peace.

Where is thy visor, or thy voyce, now, LENTVLVS ?
Art thou confounded ? Wherefore speak 'st thou not ? *°s
Is all so cleere, so plaine, so manifest,
That both thy eloquence, and impudence,
And thy ill nature, too, haue left thee, at once ?
Take him aside. There's yet one more, GABINIVS,
The enginer of all. Shew him that paper, «<>

If he doe know it ? GAB. I know nothing. CIC. No ?

188 ALL.] i Amb. G. 195 that] th'art Q2, W.

[Gabinius Cimber is brought in.] S. N. — G.

H

210

n6 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT V

GAB. No. Nether will I know. CAT. Impudent

head !

Sticke it into his throate; were I the Consul,
II 'd make thee eate the mischief e, thou hast vented.

GAB. Is there a law for't, CATO ? CAT. Do'st
[753] "5 thou aske

After a law, that would 'st haue broke all lawes,
Of nature, manhood, conscience, and religion ?

GAB. Yes, I may aske for't. CAT. No, pernicious

CIMBER.

Th 'inquiring after good, do's not belong
220 Vnto a wicked person. GAB. I but CATO

Do's nothing, but by law. CAR. Take him aside.
There's proof e enough, though he confesse not. GAB,

Stay,

I will confesse. All's true, your spies haue told you.
Make much of 'hem. CAT. Yes, and reward 'hem well,
"5 For feare you get no more such. See, they doe not
Die in a ditch, and stinke, now you ha' done with 'hem ;
Or beg, o' the bridges, here in Rome, whose arches
Their actiue industrie hath sau'd. CIC. See, Fathers,
What mindes, and spirits these are, that, being conuicted
2s° Of such a treason, and by such a cloud

Of witnesses, dare yet retayne their boldnesse ?
What would their rage haue done, if they had conquer 'd ?
I thought, when I had thrust out CATILINE,
Neither the state, not I, should need t'haue fear'd
*3s LENTVLVS sleepe here, or LONGINVS fat,
Or this CETHEGVS rashnesse ; it was he,
I onely watch 'd, while he was in our walls,
As one, that had the braine, the hand, the heart.
But now, we find the contrary ! Where was there
24° A people grieu'd, or a state discontent,

Able to make, or helpe a warre 'gainst Rome,

212 Neyther will I know] Nor I will not know Qi, Q2.

ACT V] Catiline his Conspiracy 117

But these, th'ALLOBROGES, and those they found ?

Whom had not the iust gods beene pleas 'd to make

More friends vnto our safety, then their owne,

As it then seem'd, neglecting these mens offers, ns

Where had we beene ? or where the common-wealth ?

When their great Chief e had beene call'd home ? this man,

Their absolute king (whose noble grand-father,

Arm'd in pursuit of the seditious GRACCHVS,

Tooke a braue wound, for deare defence of that, *s<>

Which he would spoile) had gather 'd all his aides

Of ruffians, slaues, and other slaughter-men ?

Giuen vs vp for murder, to CETHEGVS ?

The' other ranke of citizens, to GABINIVS ?

The citie, to be fir'd by CASSIVS ? ^

And Italic, nay the world, to be laid wast

By cursed CATILINE, and his complices ?

Lay but the thought of it, before you, Fathers,

Thinke but with me you saw this glorious citie,

The light of all the earth, tower of all nations, **° [754]

Sodainely falling in one flame. Imagine,

You view'd your countrey buried with the heapes

Of slaughter 'd citizens, that had no graue ;

This LENTVLVS here, raigning, (as he dreamp't)

And those his purple Senate', CATILINE come

With his fierce armie ; and the cryes of matrons,

The flight of children, and the rape of virgins,

Shriekes of the liuing, with the dying grones

On euery side t'inuade your sense ; vntill

The bloud of Rome, were mixed with her ashes ! *?<>

This was the spectacle these fiends intended

To please their malice. CET. I, and it would

Haue beene a braue one, Consul. But your part

Had not then beene so long, as now it is :

I should haue quite defeated your oration ;

And slit that fine rhetoricall pipe of yours,

H2

n8 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT V

I'the first scene. CAT. Insolent monster! CIC.

Fathers,

Is it your pleasures, they shall be committed
Vnto some safe, but a free custodie,
280 Vntill the Senate can determine farder ?

SEN. It pleaseth well. CIC. Then, MARCVS

CRASSVS,

Take you charge of GABINIVS : send him home
Vnto your house. You CAESAR, of STATILIVS.
CETHEGVS shall be sent to CORNIFICIVS ;
»«s AndLENTVLVS,toPVBLIVSLENTVLVS SPINTHER,
Who now is Aedile. CAT. It were best, the Praetors
Carryed 'hem to their houses, and deliuered 'hem.
CIC. Let it be so. Take 'hem from hence. CAES.

But, first,

Let LENTVLVS put off his Praetor-ship.
29° LEN. I doe resigne it here vnto the Senate.

CAES. So, now, there's no offence done to religion.
CAT. CAESAR, 'twas piously, and timely vrg'd.
CIC. What doe you decree to th'ALLOBROGES ?
That were the lights to this discouery ?
295 CRA. A free grant, from the state, of all their suites.
CAES. And a reward, out of the publike treasure.
CAT. I, and the title of honest men, to crowne 'hem.
CIC. What to VOLTVRTIVS? CAES. Life, and

fauour's well.
VOL. I aske no more. CAT. Yes, yes, some money,

thou need'st it.
3oo 'Twill keepe thee honest : want made thee a knaue.

SYL. Let FLACCVS, and POMTINIVS, the Praetors,
Haue publike thankes, and QVINTVS FABIVS SANGA,
For their good seruice. CRA. They deserue it all.

281 SEN.] Omnes. G. 288 first] om. Q2. 290 [Exeunt

Praetors and Guards, with Lentulus, Cethegus, Statilius, and Gabinius.
S. N.-G.

ACT V]

Catiline his Conspiracy

119

•:

CAT. But what doe we decree vnto the Consul,
Whose vertue, counsell, watchfulnesse, and wisedome,
Hath free'd the common- wealth, and without tumult,
Slaughter, or bloud, or scarce raysing a force,
Rescu'd vs all out of the iawes of fate ?

CRA. We owe our Hues vnto him, and our fortunes,

CAES. Our wiues, our children, parents, and our gods. 3«o

SYL. We all are saued, by his fortitude.

CATO. The common-wealth owes him a ciuicke

gyrland.
He is the onely father of his countrey.

CAES. Let there be publike prayer, to all the gods,
Made in that name, for him. CRA. And in these words. 3*5
For that he hath, by his vigilance, preserved
Rome from the flame, the Senate from the sword,

And all her citizens from massacre.

CIC. How are my labours more then paid, graue

Fathers,

In these great titles, and decreed honors !
Such, as to me, first, of the ciuill robe,
Of any man, since Rome was Rome, haue hap'ned;
And from this frequent Senate : which more glads me,
That I now see, yo' haue sense of your owne safety.
If those good dayes come no lesse gratefull to vs,
Wherein we are preseru'd from some great danger,
Then those, wherein w'are borne, and brought, to light,
Because the gladnesse of our safetie is certaine,
But the condition of our birth not so ;
And that we are sau'd with pleasure, but are borne
Without the sense of ioy : why should not, then,
This day, to vs, and all posteritie
Of ours, be had in equall fame, and honor,
With that, when ROMVLVS first rear'd these walls,
When so much more is saued, then he built ?

311 saued] sav'd Q2. 330 we are] w'are 1692.

[755]

3*0

330

335

120 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT V

CAES. It ought. CRA. Let it be added to our

Fasti.
CIC. What tumult's that ? FLA. Here's one TAR-

QVINIVS taken,

Going to CATILINE; and sayes he was sent
By MARCVS CRASSVS : whom he names, to be
340 Guiltie of the conspiracy. CIC. Some lying varlet.
Take him away, to prison. CRA. Bring him in,
And let me see him. CIC. He is not worth it, CRASSVS.
Keepe him vp close, and hungrie, till he tell,
By whose pernicious counsell, he durst slander
345 So great, and good a citizen. (CRA. By yours

I feare, 'twill proue.) SYL. Some o' the traytors, sure,
To giue their action the more credit, bid him
Name you, or any man. CIC. I know my selfe,
By all the tracts, and the courses of this businesse,
[756] 350 CRASSVS is noble, iust, and loues his countrey.
FLA. Here is a libell too, accusing CAESAR,
From LVCIVS VECTIVS, and confirm'd by CVRIVS.
CIC. Away with all, throw it out o' the court.
CAES. A tricke on me, too ? CIC. It is some mens

malice.
355 1 said to CVRIVS, I did not beleeue him.

CAES. Was not that CVRIVS your spie, that had
Reward decreed vnto him, the last Senate,
With FVLVIA, vpon your priuate motion ?
CIC. Yes. CAES. But, he has not that reward,

yet ? CIC. No.
360 Let not this trouble you, CAESAR, none beleeues it.

CAES. It shall not, if that he haue no reward.
But if he haue, sure I shall thinke my selfe
Very vntimely, and vnsafely honest,
Where such, as he is, may haue pay t 'accuse me.

336 [Noise without. S. N. — G. 337 Re-enter FLACCUS.

S. D.-G. 346 [Aside. S. N.-G.

ACT V] Catiline his Conspiracy 121

CIC. You shall haue no wrong done you, noble

CAESAR, 365

But all contentment. CAES. Consul, I am silent.

CATILINE.

The Armie.

INeuer yet knew, Souldiers, that, in fight,
Words added vertue vnto valiant men;
Or, that a generalls oration made

An armie fall, or stand : but how much prowesse 37*

Habituall, or naturall each mans brest
Was owner of, so much in act it shew'd.
Whom neither glory' or danger can excite,
Tis vaine t 'at tempt with speech : for the minds feare
Keepes all braue sounds from entring at that eare. 375
I, yet, would warne you some few things, my friends,
And giue you reason of my present counsailes.
You know, no lesse then I, what state, what point
Our affaires stand in ; and you all haue heard,
What a calamitous misery the sloth, 310

And sleepinesse of LENTVLVS, hath pluck'd
Both on himself e, and vs : how, whilst our aides
There, in the citie look'd for, are defeated,
Our entrance into Gallia, too, is stopt.
Two armies wait vs : one from Rome, the other 3»s

From the Gaule-Prouinces. And, where we are,
(Although I most desire it) the great want
Of corne, and victuall, forbids longer stay.
So that, of need, we must remoue, but whither
The sword must both direct, and cut the passage. 390
I onely, therefore, wish you, when you strike,

366 [Exeunt. S. .N. — G. SCENE V. The Country

Fcsulat. Enter CATILINE with his Army. S. D. — G. 384 into]

in Q2. 386 where] om. Q3-

122 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT V

To haue your valours, and your soules, about you ;
[757] And thinke, you carrie in your labouring hands
The things you seeke, glorie, and liber tie,

395 Your countrie, which you want now, with the Fates,
That are to be instructed, by our swords.
If we can giue the blow, all will be safe to vs.
We shall not want prouision, nor supplies.
The colonies, and free townes will lye open.

4oo Where, if we yeeld to feare, expect no place,

Nor friend, to shelter those, whom their owne fortune,
And ill vs'd armes haue left without protection.
You might haue liu'd in seruitude, or exile,
Or safe at Rome, depending on the great ones ;

405 But that you thought those things vnfit for men.
And, in that thought, you then were valiant.
For no man euer yet chang'd peace for warre,
But he, that meant to conquer. Hold that purpose.
There's more necessitie, you should be such,

4™ In fighting for your selues, then they for others.

Hee's base, that trusts his feet, whose hands are arm'd.
Me thinkes, I see Death, and the Furies, waiting
What we will doe; and all the heauen' at leisure
For the great spectacle. Draw, then, your swords :

4*5 And, if our destinie enuie our vertue
The honor of the day, yet let vs care
To sell our selues, at such a price, as may
Vn-doe the world, to buy vs ; and make Fate,
While shee tempts ours, feare her owne estate.

413 heauen'] heaven's Q3. 415 our . . . our] your . . . our. Q2.

419 feare] fear for W. [Exeunt, marching . S. N. — G.

ACT V]

Catiline his Conspiracy

123

THE SENATE.

SEN. What meanes this hastie calling of the Senate ? «*<>
SEN. We shall know straight. Wait, till the
Consul speakes.

POM. Fathers Conscript, bethinke you of your safeties,
And what to doe, with these conspirators ;
Some of thair clients, their free'd men, and slaues
'Ginne to make head : there is one of LENTVLVS bawds ***
Runnes vp and downe the shops, through euery street,
With money to corrupt, the poore artificers,
And needle tradesmen, to their aide. CETHEGVS
Hath sent, too, to his seruants ; who are many,
Chosen, and exercis'd in bold attemptings, <3<>

That forth-with they should arme themselues, and proue
His rescue : All will be in instant vproare,
If you preuent it not, with present counsailes.
We haue done what we can, to meet the furie,
And will doe more. Be you good to your selues.

CIC. What is your pleasure, Fathers, shall be done ?
SYLLANVS, you are Consul next designed.
Your sentence, of these men. SYL. Tis short, and this.
Since they haue sought to blot the name of Rome,
Out of the world ; and raze this glorious empire
With her owne hands, and armes, turn'd on her selfe :
I thinke it fit they die. And, could my breath
Now, execute 'hem, they should not enioy
An article of time, or eye of light,
Longer, to poyson this our common ayre

435 [758]

440

445

SEN. I thinke so too. SEN.
I. SEN. And I.

And I. SEN. And

SCENE VI. Rome. The Temple of Jupiter Stator. Enter
Lictors, Praetors, (POMTINIUS and FLACCUS.) CICERO, SYLLANUS,
CAESAR, CATO, CRASSUS, and other Senators. 420 SEN.]

i Sen. G. 421 SEN.] 2 Sen. G. 42? P<>ore] om. Q3-

446 G. assigns speeches, I Sen., 2 Sen., 3 Sen., 4 Sen.

124 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT V

CIC. Your sentence, CAIVS CAESAR. CAES. Con
script Fathers,

In great affaires, and doubtfull, it behooues
Men, that are ask'd their sentence, to be free

45° From either hate, or loue, anger, or pittie :
For, where the least of these doe hinder, there
The mind not easily discernes the truth.
I speake this to you, in the name of Rome,
For whom you stand ; and to the present cause :

455 That this foule fact of LENTVLVS, and the rest,
Weigh not more with you, then your dignitie ;
And you be more indulgent to your passion,
Then to your honor. If there could be found
A paine, or punishment, equall to their crimes,

460 j would deuise, and helpe : but, if the greatnesse
Of what they ha' done, exceed all mans inuention,
I thinke it fit, to stay, where our lawes doe.
Poore pettie states may alter, vpon humour,
Where, if they' offend with anger, few doe know it,

4*5 Because they are obscure ; their fame, and fortune
Is equall, and the same. But they, that are
Head of the world, and Hue in that seene height,
All mankind knowes their actions. So wee see,
The greater fortune hath the lesser licence.

47° They must nor fauour, hate, and least be angrie :
For what with others is call'd anger, there,
Is crueltie, and pride. I know SYLLANVS,
Who spoke before me, a iust, valiant man,
A louer of the state, and one that would not,

475 In such a businesse, vse or grace, or hatred ;
I know, too, well, his manners, and modestie :
Nor doe I thinke his sentence cruell (for

476 and modestie] and his modesty. Qi, Qa, W, G.

ACT V]

Catiline his Conspiracy

125

'Gainst such delinquents, what can be too bloudie ?)

But that it is abhorring from our state ;

Since to a citizen of Rome, offending, 480 [759]

Our lawes giue exile, and not death. Why then

Decrees he that ? Twere vaine to thinke, for feare ;

When, by the diligence of so worthy a Consul,

All is made safe, and certaine. Is't for punishment ?

Why, death's the end of euills, and a rest, 485

Rather then torment : It dissolues all grief es.

And beyond that, is neither care, nor ioy.

You heare, my sentence would not haue 'hem die.

How then ? set free, and increase CATILINES armie ?

So will they, being but banish'd. No, graue Fathers, 490

I iudge 'hem, first, to haue their states confiscate,

Then, that their persons remaine prisoners

I' the free townes, farre off from Rome, and seuer'd :

Where they might neither haue relation,

Hereafter, to the Senate, or the people.

Or, if they had, those townes, then to be mulcted,

As enemies to the state, that had their guard.

SEN. Tis good, and honorable, CAESAR hath
vtterd.

CIC. Fathers, I see your faces, and your eyes
All bent on me, to note of these two censures, 500

Which I incline to. Either of them are graue,
And answering the dignitie of the speakers,
The greatnesse of th'affaire, and both seuere.
One vrgeth death : and he may well remember
This state hath punish 'd wicked citizens so. 505

The other bonds : and those perpetuall, which
He thinkes found out for the more singular plague.
Decree, which you shall please. You haue a Consul,
Not readier to obey, then to defend,

488 heare] here Q3.

498 SEN.] Omnes. G.

126 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT V

510 What euer you shall act, for the republique ;
And meet with willing shoulders any burden,
Or any fortune, with an euen face,
Though it were death : which to a valiant man
Can neuer happen foule, nor to a Consul

s1 s Be immature, or to a wise man wretched.

SYL. Fathers, I spake, but as I thought : the needes
O'th'common- wealth requir'd. CAT. Excuse it not.
CIC. CATO, speake you your sentence. CAT. This

it is.
You here dispute, on kinds of punishment,

s20 And stand consulting, what you should decree
'Gainst those, of whom, you rather should beware,
This mischief e is not like those common facts,
Which, when they are done, the lawes may prosequute.
But this, if you prouide not, ere it happen,

525 When it is happen 'd, will not wait your iudgement.
Good CAIVS CAESAR, here, hath very well,
And subtilly discours'd of life, and death,
As if he thought those things, a prettie fable,
[760] That are deliuer'd vs of hell, and furies,

530 Or of the diuers way, that ill men goe

From good, to filthy, darke, and vgly places.
And therefore, he would haue these Hue ; and long too ;
But farre from Rome, and in the small free townes,
Left, here, they might haue rescue : As if men,

535 Fit for such acts, were only in the citie,

And not throughout all Italie ? or, that boldnesse
Could not doe more, where it found least resistance ?
'Tis a vaine counsaile, if he thinke them dangerous.
Which, if he doe not, but that he alone,

540 in so great feare of all men, stand vn-frighted,
Me giues me cause, and you, more to feare him.

530 way,] ways G. 541 you,] you too, 1716, W, G.

ACT V]

Catiline his Conspiracy

127

M -

I

I am plaine, Fathers. Here you looke about,

One at another, doubting what to doe ;

With faces, as you trusted to the gods,

That still haue sau'd you ; and they can do't : But,

They are not wishings, or base womanish prayers,

Can draw their aides ; but vigilance, counsell, action :

Which they will be ashamed to forsake.

'Tis sloth they hate, and cowardise. Here, you haue

The traytors in your houses, yet, you stand,

Fearing what to doe with 'hem ; Let 'hem loose,

And send 'hem hence with armes, too ; that your mercie

May turne your miserie, as soone as 't can.

0, but, they, are great men, and haue offended,

But, through ambition. We would spare their honor : 555

1, if themselues had spar'd it, or their fame,
Or modestie, or either god, or man :

Then I would spare 'hem. But, as things now stand,
Fathers, to spare these men, were to commit
A greater wickednesse, then you would reuenge :
If there had beene but time, and place, for you,
To haue repair'd this fault, you should haue made it ;
It should haue beene your punishment, to* haue felt
Your tar die error : but necessitie,
Now, bids me say, let 'hem not hue an houre,
If you meane Rome should hue a day. I haue done.
SEN. CATO hath spoken like an oracle.

Let it be so decreed. SEN. We are all
fearefull.

And had beene base, had not his vertue reis'd vs.

Goe forth, most worthy Consul, wee'll assist

0

'••

CRA.

SYL.
SEN.

you.

CAES. I'am not yet chang'd in my sentence, Fathers,

570 [761]

566 I haue] I've 1716, W.
568 we are all] we all were Qi, Q2, W, G.

667 SEN.] Omnes G.

128 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT V

CAT. No matter. What be those ? SER. Letters,

for CAESAR.

CAT. From whom ? let 'hem be read, in open Senate ;
Fathers, they come from the conspirators.
575 I craue haue 'hem read, for the republique.

CAES. CATO, reade you it. Tis a loue-letter,
From your deare sister, to me : though you hate me,
Doe not discouer it. CAT. Hold thee, drunkard.

Consul,

Goe forth, and confidently. CAES. You'll repent
580 This rashnesse, CICERO. PRAE. CAESAR shall

repent it.
CIC. Hold friends. PRAE. Hee's scarce a friend

vnto the publike.

CIC. No violence. CAESAR, be safe. Leade on :
Where are the publike executioners ?
Bid 'hem wait on vs. On, to SPINTHERS house.
5^5 Bring LENTVLVS forth. Here, you, the sad reuengers
Of capitall crimes, against the publike, take
This man vnto your iustice : strangle him.

LEN. Thou do'st well, Consul. 'Twas a cast at dice,
In FORTVNES hand, not long since, that thy selfe
590 Should 'st haue heard these, or other words as fat all.
CIC. Leade on, to QVINTVS CORNIFICIVS house.
Bring forth CETHEGVS. Take him to the due
Death, that he hath deseru'd : and let it be
Said, He was once. CET. A beast, or, what is worse,
595 A slaue, CETHEGVS. Let that be the name

572 Enter a Messenger with letters. S. D. — G.
SER.] SEN. 1640, 1692, 1716, W; i Sen. G.

577 me,] me. Fi, F2. 578 [Aside to Cato. S. N. — G.

Consul,] Consul. Fi, F2. 580 [The Prators attempt to seize

him. S. N.-G. 582 [They all rise.] S. N.-G. 5^5 [He

is brought out] S. N. — G. 590 [Exit Len. guarded. S. N. — G.

592 [He is brought out] S. N. — G.

ACT V]

Catiline his Conspiracy

129

For all that's base, hereafter: That would let

This worme pronounce on him ; and not haue trampled

His body into— -Ha ! Art thou not mou'd ?

CIC. Justice is neuer angrie : Take him hence.

GET. O, the whore FORTVNE ! and her bawds the

Fates ! 600

That put these tricks on men, which knew the way
To death by' a sword, Strangle me, I may sleepe :
I shall grow angrie with the gods, else. CIC. Leade
To CAIVS CAESAR, for STATILIVS.

Bring him, and rude GABINIVS, out. Here, take 'hem &>5
To your cold hands, and let 'hem feele death from you.

GAB. I thanke you, you doe me a pleasure. STA.
And me too.

CAT. So, MARCVS TVLLIVS, thou maist now

stand vp,

And call it happy Rome, thou being Consul.
Great parent of thy countrie, goe, and let ««•

The old men of the citie, ere they die,
Kisse thee ; the matrons dwell about thy necke ;
The youths, and maides lay vp, 'gainst they are old,
What kind of man thou wert, to tell their nephewes,
When, such a yeere, they reade, within our Fasti, >ts
Thy Consul-ship. Who's this? PETREIVS ? CIC.

Welcome,

Welcome, renowned souldier. What's the newes ?
This face can bring no ill with't, vnto Rome.
How do's the worthy Consul, my colleague ?

PET. As well as victorie can make him, sir.
He greets the Fathers, and to me hath trusted
The sad relation of the ciuill strife ;
For, in such warre, the conquest still is black.

603 [Exit, guarded. S. N.-G. 605 [They are brought

out.] S. N. — G. 607 [Exe. Gab. and Stat. guarded. S. N. — G.

616 Enter PETREIUS. S. D. — G.

130 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT V

CIC. Shall we with-draw into the house of Concord ?

62s CAT. No, happy Consul, here ; let all eares take
The benefit of this tale. If he had voyce,
To spread vnto the poles, and strike it through
The center, to the Antipodes', It would aske it.
[762] PET. The streights, and needs of CATILINE being
such,

63<> As he must fight with one of the two armies,
That then had neere enclosed him ; It pleas 'd Fate,
To make vs th'obiect of his desperate choise,
Wherein the danger almost paiz'd the honor :
And as he riss', the day grew black with him;

635 And Fate descended neerer to the earth,
As if shee meant, to hide the name of things,
Vnder her wings, and make the world her quarrie.
At this we rous'd, lest one small minutes stay
Had left it to be' enquir'd, what Rome was.

64° And (as we ought) arm'd in the confidence
Of our great cause, in forme of battaile, stood.
Whilst CATILINE came on, not with the face
Of any man, but of a publique ruine :
His count 'nance was a ciuill warre it selfe.

645 And all his host had standing in their lookes,
The palenesse of the death, that was to come.
Yet cryed they out like vultures, and vrg'd on,
As if they would precipitate our fates.
Nor staid we longer for 'hem ; But himselfe

650 Strooke the first stroke : And, with it, fled a life.
Which cut, it seem'd, a narrow necke of land,
Had broke betweene two mightie seas ; and either
Flow'd into other ; for so did the slaughter :
And whirl'd about, as when two violent tides

633 paiz'd] poiz'd 1640, 1692, Q3, 1716, W, G. 634 riss'

rise, 1716; rose W, G; ris'd Q2.

ACT V] Catiline his Conspiracy 131

Meet, and not yeeld. The Furies stood, on hills, «ss

Circling the place, and trembled to see men

Doe more, then they : whilst pietie left the field,

Grieu'd for that side, that, in so bad a cause,

They knew not, what a crime their valour was.

The sunne stood still, and was, behind the cloud 660 [753]

The battaile made, scene sweating, to driue vp

His frighted horse, whom still the noyse droue backward.

And now had fierce ENYO, like a flame,

Consum'd all it could reach, and then it selfe ;

Had not the fortune of the common-wealth <*5

Come PALLAS-like, to euery Roman thought.

Which CATILINE seeing, and that now his troops

Couer'd that earth, they had fought on, with their

trunkes,

Ambitious of great fame, to crowne his ill,
Collected all his furie, and ran in 67o

(Arm'd with a glorie, high as his despaire)
Into our battaile, like a Lybian lyon,
Vpon his hunters, scornefull of our weapons,
Carelesse of wounds, plucking downe Hues about him,
Till he had circled in himselfe with death : 675

Then fell he too, t 'embrace it where it lay.
And as, in that rebellion 'gainst the gods,
MINERVA holding forth MEDVSA'S head,
One of the gyant brethern felt himselfe
Grow marble at the killing sight, and now, 680

Almost made stone, began t 'inquire, what flint,
What rocke it was, that crept through all his limmes,
And, ere he could thinke more, was that he fear'd ;
So CATILINE, at the sight of Rome in vs,
Became his tombe : yet did his looke retayne 685

Some of his fiercenesse, and his hands still mou'd,
As if he labour'd, yet, to graspe the state,
With those rebellious parts. CAT. A braue had death.

I

132 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT V

Had this beene honest now, and for his countrey,
69° As 'twas against it, who had ere fallen greater ?

CIC. Honor'd PETREIVS, Rome, not I, must thanke

you.

How modestly has he spoken of himselfe !
CAT. He did the more. CIC. Thanks to the

immortall gods,

Romans, I now am paid for all my labours,
695 My watchings, and my dangers. Here conclude
Your praises, triumphs, honors, and rewards,
Decreed to me : only the memorie
Of this glad day, if I may know it liue
Within your thoughts, shall much affect my conscience,
7oo "Which I must alwayes studie before fame.
Though both be good, the latter yet is worst,
And euer is ill got, without the first.

THE END.

702 [Exeunt. S. N. — G.

THIS Tragoedie was first
Acted, in the yeere

1611.

By the KINGS Maiesties
SERVANTS.

The principal! Tragoedians were,

RlC. BVRBADGE.

ALEX. COOKE.

lOH. LOWIN.

WIL. OSTLER.
Ric. ROBINSON.

IOH. HEMINGS.
HEN. CONDEL.
IOH. VNDERWOOD.
NIC. TOOLY.
WIL. EGLESTONE.

With the allowance of the Master of REVELLS.

The names of the players as here given are placed at
the beginning of the play in 1640. They are not found in Qi.

12

NOTES

References to the text of Catiline are to act and line of
this edition. Other references to Jonson are to the Gif ford-
Cunningham edition, by play, volume, and page. References
to Shakspere are to the Globe edition, act, scene, and line.
Abbreviations need no explanation beyond that furnished by
the Bibliography. The material for notes signed W. is from
Whalley ; G., from Gifford ; C., from Cunningham. Quotation-
marks have usually been omitted in signed notes, as the
wording is very frequently altered. For material found in
notes on I. 143, 2. 189 — 190, 2. 248 — 265, 3. 64, and 5. 214,
and for part of that found in the note on I. 247 — 250, I am
indepted to Professor Bright, editor of Modern Language
Notes, who kindly supplied me with the proof-sheets, before
publication, of Professor Brigejs' article, Source Material for
Jonson' s Plays, while my book was going through the press.

TITLE-PAGE

Tragoedie. Jonson preferred the Latin spellings. Sejanus
has the same form in the sub-caption. Epicoene has the
Latin form ' Comoedie ' in its sub-title, and so uniformly.

K. MAJESTIES SERVANTS. This was Shakspere's com
pany. For full particulars of this company, see Fleay,
Stage 82 ff., 133 ff., 188 ff. ; and Collier, Stage I. 287 ff., 334.

His non plebecula gaudet, etc. Horace, Epist. 2. 1. 186 ff.

William Stansby. Stansby started in business as a book
seller. He began printing in 1609, and from then until 1638
he printed 154 books. Among the important works from his
press were Certayne Masques at the Court never yet printed,
by Jonson, January 20, 1614—15 ; the 1620 quarto of Epicoene ;
the 1635 quarto of Hamlet ; and the second quarto of Love's
Labour's Lost.

136 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT I

DEDICATION

William, Earl of Pembroke. William Herbert, third earl
of Pembroke, was born in 1580 and died in 1630. He was
Lord Chamberlain from 1615 to 1625, Lord Steward from
1626 to 1630, and Chancellor of the University of Oxford in
1624. In the latter year Broadgates Hall was refounded in
his honor as Pembroke College. By some critics he has been
identified with the ' Mr. W. H. ' of the Shakspere sonnets,
but the evidence is doubtful. He was made a Knight of the
Garter in the first year of James I. To him Jonson also
dedicated his Epigrams.

5. lig-giuen times. The jig was a common conclusion to
theatrical performances, usually being performed by the clowns
and fools of the play just finished, and lasting about an hour.
Probably it was a ludicrous composition in rhyme, sung or
recited by the clown, accompanied by dancing and music on
the pipe and tabor (see Collier, Stage 3. 182 ff.).

6. Against all noise of opinion. Jonson 's impatient con
tempt for popular judgment is expressed more than once in
his works. In a passage in Timber, ' Censura de poetis ',
(Wks. 9. 153) q. v., he vigorously presents his views.

9. The first (of this race). That is, tragedy. Sejanus,
1605, was without dedication. W.

ACT i

SYLLA'S ghost. Several classic tragedies open with the
appearance of a ghost — as, for example, the Hecuba of
Euripides with the spectre of Polydorus — but the opening
here is imitated particularly from Seneca's Thyestes and
Agamemmnon. In both, a spirit rises from Hades on the eve
of a fearful crime, and one inspired in some measure by his
own, to foreshadow the coming horrors. In Thyestes, it is
the shade of Tantalus,1 whose crime, terrible as it was, is
exceeded by that of Atreus. In Agamemnon, it is the shade
of Thyestes, whose son by an incestuous marriage, ^Egisthus ,

1 See note on 4. 353.

ACT I] Notes 137

murders Agamemnon. Jonson's choice of Sylla's ghost here
was probably influenced by a bit from Lucan, Phars.i. 580—81 :

Et medio visi consurgere Campo
Tristia Sullani cecinere oracula manes.

Catiline had been an ardent supporter of Sulla, and Sallust,
in sections 5, 11—13 of his Catiline, implies that it was largely
the successes of the dictator that inspired him. Cf . ' Hunc
post dominationem Lucii Sullae lubido maxima invaserat
reipublicae capiendae, neque id quibus modis assequeretur,
dum sibi regnum pararet, quidquam pensi habebat ' (Sallust,
Catiline 5).

Sulla was the leading character in the civil war, culmi
nating in the terrible proscriptions of 81 B. C. Although
Sulla possessed many admirable qualities, and was in some
respects a thoughtful statesman, his name has always been a
synonym for cruelty, because of the unbridled ferocity of
his vengeance in the proscriptions. For a full account of his
career, see Dio Cassius 36. 44, 37. 25 ; Suetonius, Caesar 9 ;
Appian, Bell. Civ. 2. 76.

4, 5. The sense is, ' and be less portentous than an earth
quake of the destruction of thee and thine.' For threaten
in this sense, cf . Winter's Tale 3. 3. 4 :

The skies look grimly,
And threaten present blusters.

ii. Behold I Come.1 Cf. Seneca, Thy. 87-89:

Mittor ut dirus vapor
Tellure rupta, vel gravem populis luem
Sparsura pestis.

21. GRACCHI, CINNA, MARIVS.

The selection by Jonson here of the Gracchi as types of the
vengeful and destructive revolutionists is rather unhappy.
Although revolutionary in their methods, they were in purpose
ardent reformers. Both were killed in disturbances. Cinna

1 In Anglia 35. 299, Briggs states that this passage is from Aga
memnon (!).

138 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT I

was consul in 87 B. C. While Sulla was absent from Rome,
he joined Marius in his horrible vengeance on the aristocratic
party. Marius was a leader of the democratic or popular
party of Rome. His rivalry with Sulla caused the first civil
war in 88. In that year he was driven from Rome, but
returned in 87, during Sulla's absence. His capture of Rome
and subsequent administration of the government were
marked by horrible cruelties.

24. And HANNIBAL could not haue wish'd to see. Of.
' Et quidquid nee Hannibal videretur optasse ' (Florus, Epit.

4.i).

27. Thy former facts. In the i6th and 17 th centuries
the commonest sense of fact was ' an evil deed, a crime. ' Cf .
All's Well 3.7.47: 'Where both not sin, and yet a sinful
fact.' Cf. also the legal phrase still in use, ' accessory before
(or after) the fact.' So also in 1.41 (see Glossary).

29. Conscience of them prouoke thee on to more. Cf.
'Agitabatur magis magisque in dies animus ferox inopia rei
familiaris et conscientia scelerum' (Sallust, Cat. 5). See
Glossary.

31. Thy forcing first a Vestall nunne. Sallust gives us
this information in Cat. 15. This priestess of Vesta was
Fabia Terentia, sister to Terentia, Cicero's wife. She was
accused by Clodius, but being powerfully defended by Catulus
and others of influence, was acquitted. The penalty for
violation of the vestal vows was death.

32. Thy parricide late on thine owne onely sonne. Sallust
states it as the common belief that Catiline put his son to death
because Aurelia Orestilla dreaded having a grown-up stepson
(see Cat. 15).

33- To make emptie way. Cf. 'Cum morte superioris
uxoris, novis nuptiis domum vacuam fecisses' (Cicero,
i Cat. 6).

36. Which got thee, at once, a daughter and a wife. In
a fragment of Cicero (In Toga Candida), occurs this passage :
'Cum deprehendebare in adulteriis, cum deprehendebas
adulteros ipse, cum ex eodem stupro tibi et uxorem et filiam
invenisti.' On this passage Asconius Pedianus thus comments :

ACT I] Notes 139

' Dicitur Catilina adulterium commisse cum ea, quae ei postea
socrus fuit, et ex eo natum stupro duxisse uorem, cum fili.i
eius esset. Hoc Lucceius quoque Catilinae obicit in orationi-
bus quas in eum scripsit. Nomina harum mulierum nondum
inveni.' Plutarch, too (Life of Cicero 10), says that Catiline
was accused of debauching his own daughter.

37. I leaue the slaughters that thou didst for me. Q. Cicero
(De Pet. Con. 2. 9.) accuses Catiline of murders done in
Sulla's cause. Plutarch, in Sulla 32, mentions especially one
M. Marius, whom Catiline slew with his own hands, bearing
the head to Sulla. In return for this, Sulla entered Catiline's
brother among the proscribed (see note to 40). Asconius
Pedianus, in his comment on Cicero's lost In Toga Candida,
quotes Cicero as accusing Catiline of four specific murders.

40. And writ him in the list of my proscribed. See note
on 37, supra. Plutarch, Cic. 10, also furnishes this infor
mation. By having his brother's name placed on the proscrip
tion-lists, Catiline could readily make it appear, in those
troublous times, as if the death had occured in the due
course of events, without foul play.

42. Thy incest. So Q. Cicero (De Pet. Cons. 2. 9) :
'educatus in sororis stupris.'

47. Defeated once. Sallust (Cat. 18) states that Catiline
was on trial at one time for extortion, and by reason of this
was unable to declare himself a candidate, as had been his
intention, for the consulship within the legitimate number
of days. Following this, he conspired with Cneius Piso and
Autronius to assassinate the consuls, L. Cotta and L. Tor-
quatus, in the Capitol, on the first of January; then, when
they had seized the fasces, Piso was to be sent with an army
to occupy Spain. The design was discovered, and postponed
until February ; when the murder of most of the senate was to
be added to the original program. Catiline, however, gave
the signal to his associates too hastily, and the plot was
frustrated. See also Cicero, I Cat. 6.

55-63. Nor let thy thought, &c. Cf. Seneca, Thyestes ;
29-32, 48-9, 51.

140 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT I

Nee vacet cuiquam vetus

Odisse crimen; semper oriatur novum;

Nee unum in uno; dumque punitur scelus

Crescat

Jusque omne pereat, non sit a vestris malis

Immune coelum

Nox atra fiat, excidat coelo dies.

76. I. The old affirmative. W. mistook it for the
pronoun, and printed I'd. Cf. Catiline 2. 100.

79. The ills, that I haue done, cannot be safe. Cf . Seneca,
Agamemnon 116 : 'Per scelera semper sceleribus tutum est
iter.'

81. A spirit within me, etc. We have here a fulfilment
already of the wish of Sulla's ghost, as expressed in lines
27—30 above.

83. Was I a man, bred great, as Rome her selfe ? ' L. Ca-
tilina, nobili genere natus, fuit magna vi et animi et corporis '
(Sallust, Cat. 5).

92 ff. I can loose My pietie, and in her stony entrailes
Dig me a seate. Cf. Luc., Phars. i. 2—3 :

Canimus, populumque potentem
In sua victrici conversum viscera dextra.

93. Pietie. The Latin pietas means 'filial affection.'
(cf. the phrase pius ^Eneas), or 'patriotism.' These meanings
are included in its sense here.

97. Since she first knew MARS. Mars was the father, by
the vestal Ilia (Rhea Silvia), of Romulus and Remus (Livy
i. 3ft).

AVRELIA. Of Aurelia Orestilla, Sallust says (Cat. 15)
' Cuius praeter f ormam nihil umquam bonus laudavit . ' She was
probably the sister or daughter of Cneius Aurelius Orestis,
who had been praetor.

115—118. Cf. these lines with 32—35 above.

119. "He that, building," &c. Quotation-marks are used
by Jonson to call attention to a peculiarly expressive thought
or aphorism. Actual quotations, when acknowledged, he
puts in italics.

ACT ij Notes 141

124. Came with thy wealth. 'Cum alienis nominibus
liberalitas Orestillse, suis filiaeque copiis, persolveret' (Sallust.
Cat. 35).

127. Which, now, shall hit the starres. Cf. Horace,
Od. i. i. 36 : ' Sublimi feriam sidera vertice/

131. I haue to doe. Catiline's skill in being all things
to all men is treated at length in Cicero, Pro Calio 6. 13.

135. And a vaine dreame, out of the SYBILL'S bookes.
This prophecy of the three Cornelii is mentioned in Sallust,
Cat. 47 ; Plutarch, Cic. 17 ; and Cicero, 3 Cat. 4. Plutarch
says the verses were forged.

The Sibyl here referred to is the Cumaean, the only Roman
Sibyl. For the story of the Sibylline books, see Dionysius,
Antiq. Rom. 4. 62. The books were kept in the Capitol. In
B. C. 83 the Capitol burned, and the senate made a new
collection of Sibylline utterances by sending envoys to
various places, and making local additions. These were kept
in the new Capitol (Tacitus, Ann. 6. 12).

139. Avgvres. At this time there were two priestly
colleges, the pontiffs and augurs, each of fifteen members
(quindecemviri). The augurs prepared the place for the
taking of the auspices and auguries, and assisted in the
interpretation. They alone had the right to read and inter
pret the Sibylline books.

143. Goe on vpon the gods, etc. Cf . Seneca, Medea 424 — 25 :

Invadam deos,
Et cuncta quatiam.

144. The engine from the CYCLOP' S. The engine referred
to is the thunderbolt. The Cyclops alone could forge these,
but were under promise to supply them only to Jove. See
Hesiod, Theog. 139 ff., 624 ff.

147. Enuy. For envy in this sense of ill-will or hatred,
cf. The Devil is on Ass (Wks. 5. 61) :

And, I am justly pay'd,

What might have made my profit of his service,
But by mistaking, have drawn on his envy.

Also, Catiline 3. 2, 54, 59, 553-

142 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT I

153. Others, whom meere ambition fires, etc. Cf. Cicero,
2 Cat. 9 : 'Alterum genus est eorum qui, quamquam premun-
tur aere alieno, dominationem tamen exspectant, rerum potiri
volunt, honores, quos quieta republica desperant, perturbata
se consequi posse arbitrantur.'

155. To their crude hopes. Rude, ill-digested hopes. Cf.
Dedication : 'Against all noise of opinion : from whose crude,
and ayrie reports, I appeale,' etc.

157. Th' idle Captaynes. ' Non nullos ex Sullanis colonis,
quibus lubido atque luxuria ex magnis rapinis nihil reliqui
fecerant' (Sallust, Cat. 28).

159. The profuse waters of their patrimonies. 'Nam
quicumque impudicus, adulter, ganeo, manu, bona patria
laceraverat, quique alienum aes grande conflaverat' (Sallust,
Cat. 14). The rest of this speech, to 180, is taken from the
same source, being in part a direct translation.

172. As I haue boyes. The limits to which the pro
fligacy of the period went are almost unimaginable. Cicero
in 2 Phil. 18 accuses Antony of this same unnatural crime.
See also Juvenal, Sat. 2.

177. Community. Defined (N.E.D.) as 'social inter
course, fellowship, communion ' ; but it is evidently here
tinged strongly with the idea of licentiousness, as conveyed
in freedome and the lines immediately preceding.

181. Like one of Ivno's or of love's disguises. The gods,
in the pursuance of their numerous amours, had recourse
to many disguises. Take, for instance, the case of Danae.
See note on 2. 182.

185. Or the scene shifted in our theaters. The Roman
theater used a fixed stage-setting, and observed the unity of
place ; so the use of scene here is an anachronism, whether it
be taken to mean change of scenery or of the location of the
action. However, Jonson's meaning here is probably
satirical. As scenic effects were at this time very crude —
indeed, scarcely existed at all — the reference is undoubtedly
not to them, but rather to the ease with which the romantic
dramatists shifted their scene of action, often as many as half
a dozen times in a single act (cf. Macbeth, Act i). Alread

ACT IJ Notes 143

in the prologue to Every Man In (Wks. I. 4), he had ridi
culed the tax on the imagination by just such devices.

LENTVLVS. Publius Lentulus Sura had been consul in
71 B. C., but had been expelled from the Senate by the
censors for profligacy. At this time he was standing for
praetor, so as to regain his senatorial seat, the election to
that office being a necessary qualification. See Plutarch,
Cic. 17.

CETHEGVS. Caius Cethegus, like Lentulus, was of the
Cornelian gens. Cicero (3 Cat. 7) and Sallust both describe
him as rash and fiery.

191 — 197. Perhaps suggested by Lucan, Phars., i. 233 — 36 :

lamque dies primes belli visura tumultus
Exoritur. Seu sponte deum, seu turbidus Auster
Impulerat, maestam tenuerunt nubila lucem.

194. Rosy-finger'd. The stock Homeiic epithet.

198. A haile. The customary salutation of Romans on
morning visits to their patrons was ave, ' hail ! '

205. Vertue. Both here and elsewhere, this word is
strongly tinged by the sense of the Latin virtus, 'manly
qualities,' 'courage.'

211. Mere dormice. The dormouse is, with Jonson, a
synonym for drowsy inactvity. Cf. Cyn. Rev. 3. 2 (Wks. 2.
260) : 'Let him go, dormouse : he is in a dream now' ; and
New Inn i. I (Wks. 5. 324) : 'I was the laziest creature, . . .
and slept away my life beyond the dormouse.'

217. I muse they would be tardy. 'I marvel that they
should be tardy.' For muse in this sense, see Alchem.
(Wks. 4. 117): 'I muse, my lord, your brother will per
mit it.'

226. The degenerate, talking gowne. Cf. Lucan, Phars. i.
365 : 'Degenerem patiere togam.'

231. When the free sword took leaue. Cf. Lucan, Phars.
2. ioi :

Lateque vagatur
Ensis: et a nullo revocatum est pectore ferrum.

144 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT I

232. Sonnes kild fathers. Cf. Lucan, Phars. 2. 149 :

Nati maduere paterno
Sanguine.

233. Brothers their brothers. Cf. Lucan, Phars. 2. 151 :
'In fratrum ceciderunt praemia fratres.'

234. All hate had licence giuen it : all rage raines. Cf .

Lucan, Phars. 2. 145 :

Turn data libertas odiis, resolutaque legum
Frenis ira ruit.

239. No age was spar'd. Cf. Lucan, Phars. 2. 104:
'Nulli sua profuit aetas.' No degree: 'Nobilitas cum plebe
perit' (ibid. 101).

240. Not infants, in the porch of life were free.

Nee primo in limine vitae
Infantis miseri mascentia rumpere
fata (ibid. 106).

241. The sick, the old:

Non senis extremum piguit vergentibus annis
Praecipitasse diem (ibid. 105).

244. 'Twas crime enough, that they had lives: 'Sed
satis est jam posse mori ' (ibid. 109).

245, 246. Cf.

Et visum est lenti quaesisse nocentem.

In numerum pars magna perit (ibid, no, in).

247. Prey. The meaning here is booty. Cf. 2. Hen. VI
4. 4. 51: 'The rascal people, thirsting after prey.'
247—250. Cf. Lucan, Phars. 3, 16 :

Praeparat innumeras puppes Acherontis adusti
Portitor.

250—254. Cf. Lucan, Phars. 2. 152, 153.

Busta repleta fuga, permi taque viva sepultis
Corpora; nee populum latebrae cepere ferarum.

Jonson has reversed the order of the lines. Cf. also Petro-
nius, Sat. 121. 117 — 20:

ACT I] Notes 145

Vix navita Porthmeus
Sufficiet simulacra virum traducere cumba ;
Classe opus est.

Likewise Seneca, Oedipus i66ff. :

Quique capaci turbida cumba
Flumina servat durus senio
Navita crudo, vix assiduo
Bracchia conto lassata refert,
Fessus turbam vectare novam.

278—82. Lucan, Phars. I. 556—57, has the following :

Indigetes flevisse deos urbisque laborem
Testates sudore Lares.

Cf. also Virgil, Geor. I. 480: 'Et maestum illacrymat templis
ebur, aeraque sudant'; and Ovid, Met. 15. 792: 'Mille locis
lacrymavit ebur.' See Cook, Notes on Milton's 'Ode on the
Morning of Christ's Nativity' New Haven, 1909.

AVTRONTVS. Publius Autronius had been a companion
of Cicero in his boyhood, and his colleague in the quaestor-
ship. The year following the conspiracy he was banished,
under the Plautian law, together with Longinus, Lecca, and
Vargunteius.

VARGVNTEIVS. Little is known of Lucius Vargunteius,
except that at one time he had been accused of bribery, and
defended by Hortensius (see Cicero, Pro. P. Sttlla 2).

LONGINVS. Lucius Cassius Longinus had been a competi
tor with Cicero for the consulship (Asconius Pededianus,
In Tog. Can.) . His corpulence was proverbial.

uVJtuVS. Quintus Curius, like Lentulus, had been removed
from thesenate for profligacy. He was adescendant of M. Curius
Dentatus, the opponent of Pyrrhus (see Sallust, Cat. 23).

LECCA. Marcus Parcius Lecca was of the same gens as
the Catos, but of a different family. He was exiled after the
conspiracy.

BESTIA. Lucius Bestia was of the Calpurnian gens. He
escaped death on the discovery of the conspiracy, and was
later elected aedile. He also stood for the praetorship, but
was exiled for bribery. Caesar recalled him, and he stood for
the consulship, but without success.

146 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT I

FVLVIVS. GABIN1VS. Marcus Fulvius Nobilior and
Publius Gabinius Capito were equites, the conspirators
previously named being of senatorial rank. Gabinius met
his death at the end of the conspiracy ; Fulvius was exiled.

297. Are your eyes yet vnseel'd ? The term is one taken
from falconry. A hawk's eyes were 'seeled' by passing a
thread through the lids, and tying it behind the head. To
'unseel' the eyes was to remove the stitches.

298. Dull. C.'s definition of dull here as 'producing
drowsiness' is fanciful. As a storm is impending, the sense
is evidently 'gloomy,' 'clouded.' Cf. Henry V. 3. 5. 16 : 'Is
not their climate foggy, raw and dull ? *

309—323. A description of portents is found in Dio
Cassius 37. 25, but these are quite different from those in the
text, being the flight of strange birds, thunderbolts from a
clear sky, apparitions of the dead, and flashes in the west
running up to heaven. These prodigies did not occur until a
later date in the conspiracy, says G. However, it is doubtful
if they have anything whatever to do with the conspiracy,
being unusual occurrences at the attempted holding of the
augurium salutis for the year B. C. 63. 'This,' says Dio
Cassius (tr. Foster), 'is a kind of augury, which consists of
an enquiry whether the god allows them to request welfare
for the State, as if it were unholy even to make a request for
it until the action received sanction. That day of the year
was observed on which no army went out to war, or was
taking defensive measures against any, or was fighting a
battle.' G.'s assertion that Jonson borrows the circum
stances in the text from Dio is groundless. In Cicero,
3 Cat. 8, signs and wonders are also mentioned, which,
as the details coincide, would seem to be the same as those
mentioned by Dio. Cicero (G. again to the contrary, not
withstanding) assigns no definite time to the marvels. In
a fragmentary poem of Cicero's, De Consulatu Meo, Bk. 2,
occur these lines :

Principio aetherio flammatus luppiter igni
Vertitur, et totum conlustrat lumine mundum,
Menteque divina cselum terrasque petessit.

ACT I] Notes 147

As no date is assigned to these prodigies, Jonson violates
no historical facts in having the portents occur at the first
meeting of the conspirators. As for his details, they are
culled mainly from Lucan's Pharsalia and from Seneca.
Sudden darkness as a portent is mentioned in Seneca's
Thyestes 784 ff., in the description of Atreus' feast, which
is referred to in the text — that horrible banquet where
Atreus served up to his brother Thyestes the bodies of his
three murdered sons. Seneca mentions sudden darkness also
in Hercules Furens 944, and Agamemnon 967. Lucan mentions
it also in Phars. 7. 451.

The extinguishing of the vestal flame is represented as a
bad omen in Phars. i. 549 ; groans issue from the soil after the
battle, Phars. 8. 760.

Thebloody arm waving a torch wassuggested by Phars. i. 572 :

Ingens urbem cingebat Errinnys,
Excutiens pronam flagranti vertice pinum.

316. And force a day. Construed with the context, the
meaning is: 'Our imaginations are easily stirred, and cause
us to attach undue importance to the day (with its portents,
etc.).' Cf. Rape of Lucrece 1021: 'I force not argument a
straw.' See Glossary.

318. We feare what our selues faine. Cf. Lucan, Phars. i.
486 : ' Quae finxere, timent.'

326. Noblest Romanes, etc. Beginning here and extending
to 420, the speech of Catiline is in general a paraphrase of
the speech in Sallust, Cat. 20 :

' Ni virtus fidesque vestra spectata mihi forent, nequid-
quam opportuna res cecidisset ; spes magna, dominatio, in
manibus frustra fuissent ; neque ego per ignaviam aut vana
ingenia incerta pro certis captarem. Sed quia multis et
magnis tempestatibus vos cognovi fortes fidosque mihi, eo
animus ausus est maximum atque pulcherrimum facinus
incipere ; simul quia vobis eadem quae mihi bona malaque
intellexi, nam idem velle atque idem nolle, ea demum firma
amicitia est. Sed ego quae mente agitave, omnes jam antea
diversi audistis. Ceterum mihi in dies magis animus accendi-

K

148 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT I

tur, quum considero, quae condicio vitae futura sit, nisi nosmet
ipsi vindicamus in libertatem. Nam, postquam respublica
in paucorum potentium jus atque dicionem concessit, semper
illis reges tetrarchae vectigales esse ; populi, nationes stipendia
pendere ; ceteri omnes, strenui, boni, nobiles atque ignobiles,
vulgus fuimus sine gratia, sine auctoritate, iis obnoxii, quibus
si respublica valeret formidini essemus. Itaque omnis gratia,
potentia, honos, divitiae apud illos sunt, aut ubi illi volunt ;
nobis reliquere pericula, repulsas, judicia, egestatem. Quae
quousque tandem patiemini, fortissimi viri ? Nonne emori
per virtutem praestat, qa vitam miseram atque inhonestam, -
ubi alienae superbiae ludibrio fueris, per dedecus amittere ?
Verum enim vero, pro deum atque hominum fid em ! victoria
in manu nobis est ; viget aetas, animus valet ; contra illis,
annis atque divitiis, omnia consenuerunt. Tan turn modo
incepto opus est ; cetera res expediet. Etenim quis mortalium,
cui virile ingenium inest, tolerare potest illis divitias superare,
quas profundant in exstruendo mari et montibus coaequandis,
nobis rem familiarem etiam ad necessaria deesse ? illos binas,
aut amplius, domos continuare ; nobis larem familiarem
nusquam ullum esse ? Quum tabulas, signa, toreumata
emunt, nova diruunt, alia aedificant, postremo omnibus modis
pecuniam trahunt, vexant, tamen summa lubidine divitias
vincere nequeunt. At nobis est domi inopia, foris aes alienum ;
mala res, spes multo asperior : denique, quid reliqui habemus,
praeter miseram animam ? Quin igitur expergiscimini ? En
ilia, ilia quam saepe optastis, libertas, praeterea divitiae, decus,
gloria in oculis sita sunt ! fortuna omnia victoribus praemia
posuit. Res, tempus, pericula, egestas, belli spolia magnifica,
magis quam oratio hortentur. Vel imperatore vel milite me
utimini : neque animus neque corpus a vobis aberit. Haec
ipsa, ut spero, vobiscum una consul agam ; nisi forte animus
fallit, et vos servire magis quam imperare parati estis.'

351. Shee builds in gold ; and, to the starres. Petronius,
Sat. 120. 87: 'Aedificant auro sedesque ad sidera mittunt.'

356. Bred, to consume corne. Cf. Horace, Epist. 2. 27 :
'Fruges consumere nati.' Corne is here used in its general
sense as ' grain.'

f

ACT I]

Notes

149

359. Trembling beneath their rods. ' The original is " Sine
gratia, sine auctoritate, iis obnoxii, quibus si respublica valeret
formidini essemus." Our poet hath preserved the sentiment,
and given it a very ingenious turn ; the allusion is to the con
sul's fasces, or rods, in which the axe was bound up.' — W.

371. All things grown aged. Sallust, Cat. 20, has consen-
uerunt, which would, perhaps, be better rendered 'have
fallen into decay,' than so literally.

384. Tyrian hangings. A very highly esteemed and
expensive dye was the purple from Tyre. It is frequently
mentioned by the satirists. See Juvenal, Sat. I. 27 ; 10. 38;
Horace, Ep. 16. 18, etc.

385. Ephesian pictures. The temple of Diana at Ephesus
was far-famed for its art- treasures. The city was the home
of two famous painters, Parrhasius and Apelles. Cf. Strabo,
Geog. 14. i. 19 ff.

Corinthian plate. Corinth was sacked by Rome in 146 B.C.,
and all of its art-objects carried to Rome. It was especially
renowned for its brass ware. At this time the city was
practically a deserted ruin, so that no importations of 'plate'
could be made. Cf. Strabo, Geog. 8. 6. 23 ff.

386. Attalicke garments. Garments made of cloth of
gold were called vestimenta attalica from their reputed inven
tor, King Attalus III of Pergamon (see Pliny, Nat. Hist. 8. 74).

New found gemmes. Pliny, Nat. Hist. 37. 6, gives a long
account of the jewels displayed at Rome in the triumph of
Pompey. One of the most remarkable was a chessboard
made of two precious stones, three feet wide by two feet
long ( !), having upon it a moon of solid gold, weighing
thirty pounds.

388. The riuer Phasis. The river Phasis was the great
breeding-place for pheasants, which were considered luxuries.
See Petronius, Sat. 119. 34 ff. :

Atque Lucrinis

Eruta litoribus verdunt conchylia cenas,
Ut renovent per damna famem. lam Phasidos unda
Orbata est avibus, mutoque in litore tantum
Solae desertis adspirant frondibus aurae.

K2

150 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT I

389. Lucrine lake. See Juvenal, Sat. 4. 140—142 :

Circeis nata forent an

Lucrinum ad saxum Rutupinove edita fundo
Ostrea, callebat primo depraendere morsu.

See also Horace, Sat. 2. 4. 32-3.

391. Witty gluttony. An echo of Petronius, Sat. 119. 33 :
'Ingeniosa gula est.' For instances of the grotesque lengths
to which ' witty gluttony ' would go, see Petronius, Cena Trim-
alchionis.

393. Then, if the echo like not. For like in this sense of
'be pleasing,' cf. The Devil is an Ass, Prologue (Wks. 5. 5) :
'If this play do not like, the devil is in't.'

397 — 401. Suggested by Petronius, Sat. 119. 85 ff. :

Aspice late

Luxuriam spoliorum et censum in damna furentem ....
Expelluntur aquae saxis, mare nascitur arvis,
Et permutat rerum statione rebellant.

416. Use me your generall. Sallust has 'Imperatore me
utimini' (Cat. 20). The construction is slightly strained in
English.

418. I not doubt. For the omission of do or did when the
verb is preceded by not, see Abbott, § 305. Cf. the next line :
if trust not flatter me ; 490, etc.

423. Sacrament. Sac? -amentum, in Roman use, was ap
plied most generally to the oath of enlistment in military
service, although it might apply to any solemn engagement
ratified with a ceremony. In this latter sense it is here used.
Cf. Spenser, F.Q. 5. i. 125:

This doubtful cause's right
Can hardly but by sacrament be tried.

425. Diff erring hurts, where powers are so prepared.

Cf. Lucan, Phars. i. 281 : ' Semper nocuit differre paratis. '
426—472. The ideas here expressed, at times the very

words, are found in Sallust, Cat. 21 :

'Postquam accepere ea homines, quibus mala abunde

omnia erant, sed neque res, neque spes bona ulla, tametsi

I

ACT I]

Notes

illis quieta movere magna merces videbatur, tamen postulare
plerique, uti proponeret quae condicio belli foret ; quae praemia
armis peterent ; quid ubique opis aut spei haberent. Turn
Catilina polliceri tabidas novas, proscriptionem locupletium,
magistratus, sacerdotia, rapinas, alia omnia quae bellum atque
lubido victorum fert. Praeterea esse in Hispania citeriore
Pisonem, in Mauretania cum exercitu P. Sittium Nucerinum,
consilii sui participes ; petere consulatum C. Antonium,
quern sibi collegam fore speraret, hominem et familiarem, et
omnibus necessitudinibus circumventum : cum eo se consulem
initium ageddi facturum. Ad hoc maledictis increpat omnes
bonos ; surrum unumquemque nominans laudare : admonebat
alium egestatis, alium cupiditatis suae, complures periculi
aut ignominiae, multos victoriae Sullanae, quibus ea praedae
fuerat. Postquam omnium animos alacres videt, cohortatus
ut petitionem suam curae haberent, con ven turn dimisit.'

443. CNEIVS P1SO. Piso has been represented as
almost as complete in his villainies as Catiline. When
quaestor, he was said to be concerned in the first conspiracy
of Catiline, 65 B. C., when the alleged plan was to kill the
senate, proclaim Crassus dictator, and make Caesar master
of the horse. According to the story, two attempts to
carry out this plan were foiled, but no proceedings were
taken against the conspirators. Piso was removed from
Rome, however, and sent with praetorian powers to Hither
Spain. It can readily be seen, if this were true, how easily
he could have been induced to enter the new conspiracy. See
Mommsen, History of Rome 4. 464 ff. ; Mommsen considers
these stories mostly gossip.

444. NVCERINVS. One of the conspirators was Publius
Sittius from Nuceria, a speculator. Compelled by financial
embarrassments to keep out of Italy, he had armed a troop
of desperados in Mauretania and Spain, and wandered with
these as a leader of free lances in Western Africa, where he
had old commercial relations (Mommsen, History of Rome
4. 469).

483. I' haue kill'd a slaue. See Sallust, Cat. 22 :
'Fuere ea tempestate qui dicerunt Catilinam, oratione

152 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT I

habita, cum ad jusjurandum populares sceleris sui adigeret,
humani corporis sanguinem, vino permixtum, in pateris
circumtulisse ; inde quam post exsecrationem omnes degusta-
vissent, sicut in solemnibus sacris fieri consuevit, aperuisse
consilium suum, atque eo dictitare fecisse, quo inter se fidi
magis forent alius alii tanti facinoris conscii. Nonnulli
ficta et haec et multa prseterea existimabant ab his, qui
Ciceronis invidiam, quae postea orta est, linire credebant
atrocitate sceleris eorum, qui poenas dederant. Nobis ea
res pro magnitudine parum comperta est.'

It will be noticed that Sallust does not give undue credence
to this report. Plutarch states that the conspirators sacri
ficed a man and ate of his flesh (Cic. 10). Florus (Epitome
4. i) charges the drinking of blood. The story is, however,
very probably untrue.

505. What aile you ? This verb is at times intransitive,
says N.E.D., by reason of mistaking the personal object,
which in early times usually preceded the impersonal verb,
for the subject. Cf. All's Well 2. 4. 6 : 'If she be very well,
what does she ail, that she's not very well ?' This use of the
verb is not totally obsolete, as N.E.D. cites an instance as
late as 1869.

508. Are you coying it. Acting coyly. Cf. Massinger,
New Way to Pay Old Debts 3. 2 :

When he comes to woo you see you do not coy it :
This mincing modesty has spoil'd many a match.

CHORUS.

In this string of moral reflections, which Jonson calls a
chorus, but which is spoken by no one, and addressed to no
one, he thought not of imitating the ancients, but his own
countrymen. Most of our old tragedies have appendages
of this kind ; but those which he had obviously in view were
the Cornelia of Kyd, and the four tragedies of Lord Stirling
(Monarchicke Tragedies : Croesus, Darius, The Alexandrian,
lulius Caesar, 'newly enlarged by William Alexander, Gentle
man of the Prince's Privie Chamber', 1607), whose choruses,

ACT I]

Notes

153

like the present, make no apparent part of the action. Gor-
boduc has a chorus, and to name no more, so have the Cleo
patra and Philotas of Daniel, all prior to Catiline. — G. The
chorus is a translation of parts of the rhapsody of Eumolpus
(Petronius Arbiter, Sat. 119, 120).
531—535. Cf. Petronius, Sat. 120. 80—84:

Fors, cui nulla placet nimium secura potestas,
Quae nova semper amas et mox possessa relinquis,
Ecquid Romano sentis te pondere victam.
Nee posse ulterius perituram extollere molem ?

542. Obnoxious to. The Latin obnoxiosus means 'sub
ject to.' The Latinism here employed thus creates a grave
obscurity in English.

544. And what they raise so ill sustaine. Cf. Petronius,
Sat. 120. 85: 'Et quas struxit opes, male sustinet.'

545. Rome, now, is Mistris. Cf. Petronius, Sat. 119. i :
'Orbem iam to turn victor Romanus habebat.'

553—555. Cf. the speech of Pluto to Fortune (Petronius,
Sat. 120. 90—94) :

En etiam mea regna petunt. Perfosa dehiscit
Mollibus insanis tellus, iam montibus haustis
Antra gemunt, et dum vanos lapis invenit usus,
Inferni manes caelum sperare fatentur.

560. Yet, are the men more loose than they.
Phars. i. 164—5, has the following:

Cultus gestare decoros
Vix nuribus rapuere mares.

Lucan,

Suetonius, Calig. 52, also comments on the effeminacy of
male attire.

563, 564. So muche, that kinde May seeke it selfe there,
and not finde. Men seeking men would be unable to find
any, Kinde being used in the sense of ' nature ', as in The Devil
is an Ass (Wks. 5. 4) : 'A sluggish nature puts off man, and
kind ' ; and also in As You Like It 3. 2. 92 : 'If the cat will
after kind.' Cf. Petronius, Sat. 119. 24: ' Quaerit se natura,
nee invenit.'

154 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT I

565—568. The luxury here described appears to be an
epitome of that described by Lucan in his account of Cleopa
tra's feast to Caesar (Phars. 10. 104 ff.). Ivory tables, silk
couches, and gold and crystal goblets, are mentioned among
other things. Ivory tables are also mentioned by Juvenal,
Sat. ii. 123.

577_78. Cf. Juvenal, Sal. I. 87-88:

Et quando uberior vitiorum copia ? quando
Maior avaritiae patuit sinus ?

579—587. Cf. Petronius, Sat. 119. 39—45, and 49—51 :

Nee minor in campo furor est, emptique Quirites
Ad praedem stretitumque lucri suffragia vertunt.
Venalis populis, venalis curia patrum,
Est favor in pretio. Senibus quoque libera virtus
Exciderat, sparsisque opibus con versa potestas
Ipsaque maiestas auro corrupt a iacebat. . . .
Quare tarn perdita Roma
Ipsa sui merces erat et sine vindice praeda.

ACT II.

FVLVIA. Plutarch, Cic. 16, calls Fulvia 'a woman of
quality.' In Antonius 10 he mentions a Fulvia, now the wife
of Antony, as having been the wife of Clodius. Sallust,
Cat. 23, says she was of high birth. GALLA. This character
is Jonson's own creation.

This whole act was developed by Jonson from hints in
Sallust, Cat. 23, 24, 25, which are quoted below. From the
first passage he took the incidents which he weaves into the
quarrel of Fulvia and Curius ; from the second, the basis for
the introduction of Sempronia and her activities ; and from
the third, the character of Sempronia :

' Sed in ea conjuratione fuit Q. Curius, natus haud obscuro
loco, flagitiis atque facinoribus coopertus ; quem censores
senatu probri gratia moverant. Huic homini non minor
vanitas quam audacia ; neque reticere quae audierat, neque
suam et ipse scelera occultare ; prorsus neque dicere neque

ACT II]

Notes

155

facere quidquam pensi habebat. Erat ei cum Fulvia, muliere
nobili, vetus consuetude ; cui cum minus gratus esset, quia
inopia minus largiri poterat, repente glorians maria montesque
polliceri coepit ; minari interdum ferro, nisi obnoxia foret ;
postremo ferocius agitare quam solitus erat. At Fulvia,
insolentiae Curii causa cognita, tale periculum reipublicae
baud occultum habuit.

'Ea tempestate plurimos cujusque generis homines adsci-
visse dicitur ; mub'eres etiam aliquot, quae primo ingentes
sumptus stupro corporis toleraverant ; post, ubi aetas tanturn-
modo quaestui neque luxuriae modum fecerat, aes alienum
grande conflaverant. Per eas se Catilina credebat posse ser-
vitia urbana sollicitare, urbem incendere, viros earum vel
adjungere sibi vel interficere.

' Sed in his erat Sempronia, quae multa saepe virilis audaciae
facinora cominiserat. Haec mulier genere atque forma,
praeterea viro atque liberis satis fortunata fuit ; litteris
Graecis atque Latinis docta ; psallere, saltare elegantius,
quam necesse est probae ; multa alia, quae instrumenta luxuriae
sunt. Sed ei cariora semper omnia quam decus atque pudici-
tia fuit ; pecuniae an famae minus parceret, haud facile discerne-
res ; lubidine sic accensa ut saepius peteret viros quam peteretur.
Sed ea saepe antehac fidem prodiderat, creditum abjuraverat,
caedis conscia fuerat, luxuria atque inopia praeceps abierat.
Verum ingenium ejus haud absurdum : posse versus facere,
jocum movere, sermone uti vel modesto, vel molli, vel procaci :
prorsus multae facetiae multusque lepos inerat.'

i. Glasse. Pliny, Nat. Hist. 36. 67, mentions glass mirrors,
but they were imperfect. The best mirrors, he tells us in Nat.
Hist. 23. 9 (45), were made of polished plates of silver.

15. Globe or spire. 'These were various ways in which
the Roman ladies bound up their hair : and the manner is
still to be seen on the coins and medals of that and the
following age. The spire was used to add to one's height.
See Juvenal, Sat. 6. 502—504:

Tot premit ordinibus, tot adhuc compagibus altum
Aedificat caput, Andromachen a fronte videbis :
Post minor est : credas aliam. — W.

156 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT II

16. Good impertinence. The turning of the predominant
quality of the moment into an appellative is common. Cf.
2. 219, where Curius calls Fulvia 'pretty solennesse,' and
2. 235, where Galla is called 'good diligence.' Also Coriolanus
2. i. 192, where Coriolanus addresses Volumnia : 'My
gracious silence, hail ! '

30. Wit-worme. A contemptuous title. The use of
'worm' as denoting contempt or pity is frequent. Cf. Tem
pest 3. i. 31: 'Poor worm, thou art infected'; also the
popular hymn,

Would He devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I ?

There is an element of this in the modern term 'book
worm' for a student, although the direct derivation here
is different.

34—68. The characteristics here enumerated are practi
cally all found in Sallust, Cat. 25, quoted supra.

51. An honest woman. For honest in the sense of 'vir
tuous,' cf. the title of Dekker's play, The Honest Whore.

52, 53. Few wise womens honesties
Will doe their courtship hurt. Few wise women's purity
will interfere with their being courted. Courtship is here
used in a slightly unusual sense.

63. Rather a visor than a face. Cf. Juvenal, Sat. 6. 467 :
'Tandem aperit vultum et tectoria prima reponit.'

66. But shee is faine of late. For definition of faine here,
see Glossary. An instance of similar use occurs in Two
Gentlemen of Verona i. i. 117: 'Well, I perceive I must be
fain to bear with you.'

70. There is the gallant! For the use of gallant as a
modish woman, cf. Pepys, Diary, 4 September, 1662 : ' She
would fain be a gallant.'

75. Appeares the least part of her selfe. Cf. Lyly, Eu-
phues: Anatomy i. 254. 36 ff. (ed. Bond) : 'Take from them
their . . . lewells . . . and thou shalt soone percieue that a
woman is the least part of hir selfe.' Cf. also Ovid, Rem.
Amor. 344: 'Pars minima est ipsa puella sui.'

ACT ii | Notes 157

88. The foole is wild, I thinke. The term foole carries
with it no necessary stigma of mental deficiency. It was in
common use in Jonson's day as a term of endearment, slightly
tinged with pity. Cf. Winter's Tale 2. i. 118 : 'Do not weep,
good fools ; there is no cause.' It is used with telling pathos
in Lear 5. 3. 306: 'And my poor fool is hang'd.'

97. Tribes. At this time there were thirty-five tribes,
patricians and plebeians being alike enrolled.

98. Centuries. The tribes were originally divided into
hundreds. The assembly of the centuries elected the higher
officers of the state.

100. CRASSUS, I, and CAESAR. / is here again the
old affirmative 'aye.' Cf. I. 76: 'I, Plough up rocks.'

105. A very orient one. Superior pearls and gems
anciently coming from the East, the term orient became
transferred to any jewel of marked lustre and beauty. Cf.
Volpone (Wks. 3. 190) : ' Is your pearl orient, sir ? ' Also,
Herrick, Corinna's Going A- Maying:

Besides, the childhood of the Day has kept,
Against you come, some Orient pearls unwept.

There are competitors. 'Sex competitors in consulatus
petitione Cicero habuit, duos patricios, P. Sulpicium Galbam,
L. Sergium Catilinam ; quatvor plebeios, ex quibus duos
nobiles, C. Antonium, M. Antoni oratoris filium, L. Cassium
Longinum, duos qui tantum non primi ex familiis suis ma-
gistratum adepti erant, Q. Cornificium et C. Licinium Sacer-
dotem' (Asconius Pedianus, In Tog. Can., Argumentum).

115. A new fellow. A new fellow was what the Romans
called 'novus homo,' the first of his family to hold public
office, one having no images of ancestors to show. — W.

116. An in-mate. 'M. Tullius, inquilinus civis urbis
Romae' (Sallust, Cat. 31).

120. No coate. That is, no escutcheon.
127. Twas vertue onely, at first, made all men noble.
Cf. Juvenal, Sat. 8. 19—21 :

Tota licet veteres exornent undique cerae
Atria, nobilitas sola est atque unica virtus.

158 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT II

137. Suck'd at Athens. Plutarch, Cic. 4, mentions that
Cicero studied at Athens.

149. And resists the crudities. Crudities here obviously
means particles of food which tend to decay the teeth. I can
find no satisfactory definition for it in this sense, however,
unless we consider its use here a broadening of that to denote
undigested or indigestible foods.

156. Seruant. This word, meaning 'lover,' is very
common in the old dramatists. Cf. Every Man Out (Wks.
i. 118) :

BRISK. A second good-morrow to my fair mistress.
SAVOLINA. Fair servant, I'll thank you a day hence.

Also, The Case is Altered (Wks. 6. 334) : ' Come, I will not
sue stalely to be your servant.'

170. Your noble Paunes. The fauns were regarded as
patrons of .cattle-breeding.

180. Cob-swan. A male swan, not a 'large swan,' as
G. supposed. Cf. Browning, Sordello 2. 320 : 'Out-soar them,
cobswan of the silver flock ! '

182. DANAE. To woo Danae, Jove disguised himself
as a golden shower. Leda and Europa, mentioned just
before, were also loves of Jove.

184. Or ten such thundring gamsters. In the dramatis
persona of The Alchemist, Surly is called a gamester. Tom
Quarlous, in the dramatis persona of Bartholomew Fair, has
the same title. In both cases the meaning seems to be
'a rake, a wild young dog.' Shakspere applies it to loose
women. Cf. All's Well 5. 3. 188 :

She's impudent, my lord,
And was a common gamester to the camp.— C.

189—190. Cf. Martial, Epig. 2. 56 :

Sed mera narrantur mendacia: non solet ilia
Accipere omnino. Quid solet ergo ? Dare.

210. By CASTOR, no. 'We must observe our poet's
exactness in adapting his oaths to his speakers. Gellius

ACT II]

Notes

159

tells us, that, amongst the Romans, the women never swore
by Hercules, nor the men by Castor. "Nusquam invenire
est apud idoneos quidem scriptores, aut mehercle feminam
dicere, aut mecastor virum. Aedepol autem, quod jusjuran-
dum per Pollucem est, et viro et feminae commune est "
(n. 6). Accordingly, in the next scene, Curius swears by
Pollux, and Fulvia, as the women should do, by Castor.' — W.
214. And in disposition. In good health, possibly a
Gallicism. Cf. Twelfth Night 3. i. 146 :

Grace and good disposition
Attend your ladyship.

248 — 265. This passage is taken from Ovid, Ars Ama-
toria 3. 60 iff. :

Incitat et ficti tristis custodia servi

Et nimium duri cura molesta viri.
Quae venit ex tuto, minus est accepta voluptas:

Ut sis liberior Thaide, finge metus !
Cum melius foribus possis, admitte fenestra

Inque tuo vultu signa timentis habe;
Gallida prosiliat dicatque ancilla ' perimus ! '

Tu iuvenem trepidum quolibet abde loco!

262. Wayter. A waiting woman. Cf. Massinger, Unnat
ural Combat i. i : ' Bid your waiters stand further off, and
I'll come nearer to you.'

267. Both eyes and beake seal'd vp. Cf. Juvenal, Sat.

i. 56. 57:

Doctus spectare lacunar,
Doctus et ad calicem vigilante stertere naso.

Seal'd. There is reason to agree with G. that W.'s emen
dation to seel'd is justifiable. 'Seeling,' says G., quoting the
Gentleman's Recreation, 'is when a hawk first taken is so
blinded with a thread run through the eyelids that she sees
not or very little, the better to make her endure the hood.'
A reference to falconry has occurred before in i. 297 : Are
your eyes yet vnseel'd ? Six sesterces. A sesterce was worth
about four cents.

160 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT II

275. Brokers. Panders were commonly termed 'brokers/
Cf. Troilus and Cressida 5. 10. 33: 'Hence, broker, lackey!'

278. The tragick visor. Actors in tragedy in the classical
age wore a mask covering the head to the shoulders, with a
wig usually attached.

Lady CYPRIS. Cf. Masque of Hymen (Wks. 7. 68) :

Nor may your murmuring loves
Be drown 'd by Cypris' doves.

Jonson's own note to this passage runs : 'A frequent
surname of Venus, not of the place as Cypria ; but quod
parere faciat, f] TO Kvliv IIaQ£%ov(>a, Theop. Phurnut and
the grammarians upon Homer, see them.' Cyprus was an
important seat of the worship of Venus.

283. Will LAIS turne a LUCRECE ? Lais was the name
of two famous Greek courtesans. Lucrece was a Roman
matron, whom Sextus Tarquinus, son of the king, forced at
the point of the sword. She called her family together, and
stabbed herself.

305. I shall ha' you come about, againe. Cf. Cat. 4. 611 :
They are come about, and wonne. The meaning of the
idiom is most apparent in Epicoene 4. i (Wks. 3. 407) : 'I
think, I shall come about to thee again' (that is, 'side with
thee').

307. By the faire entrailes of the matron's chests. The
beautiful contents of the matrons' treasure-chests. For entrails
in this sense, cf. Titus Andronicus 2. 3. 230 :

Which like a taper in some monument, . . .
Shows the ragged entrails of the pit.

310. Promised mountaynes. ' Repente glorians maria mon-
tesque polliceri coepit ' ; quoted supra from Sallust, Cat. 23.

316. Under the spear at out cry. That is, at an open
sale. The Roman mode of proclaiming an auction was
setting up a spear, at the foot of which the goods were sold ;
hence, as W. observes, the phrase 'sub hasta vendere/
Almost all the customs of this people were derived from the
camp, where spoil taken from the enemy was originally

ACT II]

Notes

161

disposed of in this manner. Outcry is constantly used by
our old writers for an auction. Thus Massinger, City
Madam: 'The goods of this poor man sold at an outcry.'
See also Killigrew, Parson's Wedding 2. 7: 'To be bought
or sold, or let — or else sold at out-crys.'

Indeed, the person we now call an auctioneer was anciently
termed an outcrier. Thus Stowe : 'He caused the same to
be cried throughe the citie by a man wyth a belle, and then
to be solde by the common outcrier' (ed. 1581, p. 1123).
— G. N.E.D. observes the word in this use as late as 1848.
Cf . Thackeray, Vanity Fair, p. 38 : ' (He) sold it at public
outcry, at an enormous loss to himself.'

320. Say, how you were wish'd ;

And so, he left you. 'The reader, who reflects on
what has passed between these lovers, will think this a very
unintelligible expression ; but Mr. Theobald's margin purposes
an emendation, and exhibits " witch 'd" as the most proper
term.' — W. G. rightly considers this 'something worse than
unnecessary.' It is a common failing to boast of what we
might have had, and Jonson's picture of Fulvia as an aged
spinster, looking o' her fingers, and toying with her cushion,
is a delightful bit of satire.

331. Couetise. Cf. Alchem. 2. i (Wks. 4. 60) : 'Why, this
is Covetise ! '

The word (N.E.D.) is derived from O.F. coveitise. Its ori
ginal meaning was 'lust, inordinate desire.' In this sense,
N.E.D. quotes it as late as 1847. In its limited sense, as
here, of covetousness, it has disappeared.

332. Change that vnkinde conceipt. Cf . Chaucer, T. and C.
i. 692: 'For-thi wolde I fayn remeue thy wrong conceyte.'
The meaning is 'notion, thought.'

344. As close as shells of cockles meet. The idea here
expressed seemed to take Jonson's fancy. In Alchemist
3. 2 (Wks. 4. 99) occurs this :

Kiss, like a scallop, close.
In Cynthia's Revels 5. 2 (Wks. 2. 33) :

O, she kisses as close as a Cockle.

162 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT II

In The Staple of News 2. i (Wks. 5. 212) :

They all kiss close, the last stuck to my lips.
In The Masque of Hymen (Wks. 7. 68) :

Then coin them 'twixt your lips so sweet,
And let not cockles closer meet.

The thought is from a little poem attributed to the emperor
Gallienus :

Non murmura vestra columbae,
Brachia non hederse, non vincant osculae conchse.

— C.—G. This poem, Epithalamium, may be found in P.
Burman's Anthologia Latinorum Epigrammatum et Poematum
(Amsterdam, 1759) i. 684.

345. Quite through

Our subtle lips. 'That is, thin, fine lips. So Shake
speare : "Like to a bowl upon a subtle ground".' — W.
'These "thin, fine" lips are none of Jonson's. His are — lips
acquainted with the mystery of kissing : soft and balmy like
those of Dame Pliant in the Alchemist :

And subtlety of her lip, which must be tasted
Often, to make a judgment (5. 4. : Wks. 4. 122)' — G.

W.'s quotation is badly chosen, as 'subtle' there means
smooth or level, but I think his definition better than G's
fanciful one.
348. Why, now my FVLVIA lookes, like her bright name.

Fulvia means 'shining.' Jonson is continually playing on
the names of the characters in his comedies. The play on
Fulvia's name is continued in 353—4, infra.

CHORUS.

366. Of your great nephew. Nephew here means 'grand
son,' as in 3. 627, q. v. Zeus being the father of Ares (Mars),
and Mars of Romulus by Rhea Silvia, the Roman people
traced their ancestry, directly to the gods.

ACT III] Notes 163

377. Be more with faith, than face endu'd. Face in its
sense here of 'effrontery' is found in Coriolanus 4. 6. 116 :

I have not the face
To say beseech you, cease.

391. BRUTI. L. Junius Brutus, according to tradition,
led the uprising that deposed Tarquin, following the rape
of Lucrece. So high was his sense of duty that, while consul,
he condemned his own sons to death for treason. See Livy,
Hist. i. 58 ff., 2. 5. DECII. Publius Decius Mus, the first
great man of this family, when consul in 337 B. C., devoted
himself to the Manes. His son Decius, in 296 B. C., did
likewise at Sentinum, when fighting against the Gauls and
Samnites. In the war against Pyrrhus and the Taren tines
in B. C. 280, his son is said to have followed the same course
See Livy 7. 21 ff., 8. 10.

392. CIPI. Genucius Cipus was praetor. On his head
horns suddenly sprouted as he was leaving the city. The
haruspices declared this meant he would be king if he re-
entered Rome. Hearing this, he went into exile for "life
voluntarily. See Ovid, Met. 15. 565. UURTll. In B. C.
362, Mettus Curtius devoted himself for his country to the
Manes. See Livy 7. 6.

395. CAMILLI. M. Furius Camillus, who, as a result
of false charges of embezzlement, had gone into voluntary
exile, was recalled when Rome was sacked by the Gauls
under Brennus (it was at this time that the Capitol was
saved by the cackling of the sacred geese), and made dictator.
He defeated the Gauls, gained other important victories,
and was five times dictator. So runs the legend. See
Mommsen, Hist. Rome 2. 4.

396. FABII. Q. Maximus Fabius Rullianus, in B. C. 324,
in the absence of and against the orders of his superior
officers, attacked and defeated the Samnites. He became
five times consul and twice dictator (see Livy, Hist. 8. 28 ff.).
His great-grandson, Q. Maximus Fabius Cunctator, by his
policy of delay kept Hannibal from sacking Rome. He also
was five times consul (see Livy, Hist. 27. 15 ff.). SCIPIO'S.

L

164 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT II

P. Cornelius Scipio was consul in 218 B. C., and distinguished
himself in the second Punic war, where he met his death.
His son, Publius, was the famous conqueror of Hannibal.
394. Men, good, only for a yeere. Cf. Horace, Od. 4. 9.
39: 'Consulque non unius anni.'

ACT III

CATO. Marcus Cato was the great-grandson of the
famous censor. At this time he was but a young man. In
the civil war between Pompey and Caesar, he sided with the
former. After Pompey's death, he joined his army to that
of Scipio and Labienus, only to experience a disastrous defeat
at Thapsus. Rather than submit to Caesar, he committed
suicide. This Cato is the hero of Addison's tragedy of that
name. CATVLVS. Quintus Catulus was a distinguished
leader of the aristocratic party, but one whose purity of
personal life and patriotism were far superior to those of
most of his associates. While censor with Crassus in 65 B. C.,
he resisted the latter 's attempt to seize Egypt. He was one
of the commissioners to restore the Capitol, destroyed in
83 B. C. during the civil war. Throughout his life he was at
enmity with Caesar. ANTONIVS. Caius Antonius was a
man of rather questionable character. He accompanied
Sulla in the war against Mithridates, and, being left in Greece,
plundered the country. In 70 B. C. he was expelled from the
senate by the censors for oppression of the allies and profligacy,
but was soon after readmitted. He was praetor with Cicero
in 65 B. C. and consul in 63 B. C. At the end of the war
against Catiline, he went to Macedonia, which Cicero had
given him (see note to line 477), and plundered it so shame
lessly that his recall was proposed in the senate, 61 B. C. Cicero
defended him. On his return in 59 B. C., he was accused
both of a share in Catiline's conspiracy and of plundering.
Cicero again defended him, but he was condemned on both
counts, and banished. Cicero's defence of him lends color
to the current report that the former had secretly arranged
with Antony for a share of the spoil; and Antony himself

ACT III]

Notes

165

stated such to be the case. CRASSVS, CAESAR. Crassus
is so well known as to require but slight mention, on account
of his connection with the first triumvirate. He was enor
mously wealthy, and one of the most prominent creditors
in Rome. He had been connected by popular rumor with
Catiline's alleged former conspiracy, and was naturally under
suspicion at this time. Caesar needs no comment.

The opening scene is entirely Jonson's own. Sallust,
in Cat. 24, gives a passing reference to the confusion of the
conspirators on Cicero's election, as does Plutarch in Cic. 14 ;
but there is nothing in either author to suggest the spirited
scene that follows. The language in 1—84, however, strongly
resembles the harangue of Marius to the people when seeking
recruits, as given in Sallust, Jugurtha 85.

14. I haue no vrnes. The reference is to funeral-urns,
cremation having long been the established funeral-rite
among the aristocracy. Dustie moniments. Originally wax
masks of the features of the ancestors of a family were set
up in the atria or their alee. The masks were known as
imagines (translated 'images ' in the next line by Jonson), and
could be set up only by those who had borne a curule office,
viz., from aedile upwards. Later, when the dwellings became
more luxurious and magnificent, the imagines were no longer
displayed openly, but kept in little closets, and in their
places were set busts and shields. It is to these latter that
moniments probably refers ; although there is a possibility
that the armor or other preserved trophies of famous forbears
may be meant. Cicero, being a novus homo, would have none
of these things to show.

15. Broken images. Cf. Juvenal, Sat. 8. 4—6 :

Et Curios iam dimidios humerosque minorem
Corvinum et Galbam auriculis nasoque carentem.

See note on 14, supra.

18. Vnder-takers. This word had many significations, but
in James' reign it often stood for a particularly disagree
able concept. Hired managers of elections, paid to maintain
a Court-majority in Parliament, were so named. A great

L2

166 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT III

uproar was raised against them in 1614. Cf. Volpone 3. 5
(Wks. 3. 245): 'I know it and dare undertake for her';
The Devil is an Ass 2. i (Wks. 5. 39) :

He shall but be an undertaker with me
In a most feasible business.

21. Yo' haue cut a way, etc. Cf. Cicero, Pro Murena 8 :
' Cum ego vero tan to intervallo claustra ista nobilitatis refre-
gissem, ut aditus ad consulatum posthac, sicut apud maiores
nostros fuit, non magis nobilitati, quam virtu ti, pateret.'

22. And I would make those, your complexion. The
antecedent of those is better lookes, and thoughts in 320. See
Glossary. Cf. Much Ado 2. I. 305 : 'Something of a jealous
complexion/

26. In my iust yeere. Under ordinary circumstances,
according to the fixed rules for accession to office, a man
would be fortythree on reaching the consulship : this was
Cicero's age.

29. Loud consents. So Cicero, InPisonem: 'Me cuncta
Italia, me ordines, me universa civitas, non prius tabella
quam voce priorem consulem declaravit.'

30. Silent bookes. These, referred to in quotation, supra,
as 'tabellae,' were the voting tablets. They were of wax,
blank, and the voters filled in the desired names.

34. Counsell. Opinion. Cf. Cat. 4. 280.

36. Two things, etc. Cf. Sallust, Jug. 85 : ' Quo mihi
acrius adnitundum est, uti neque vos capiamini et illi frustra
sint.'

37. Nor you repent you. The reflexive use of this verb is
frequent in the literature of the time. Cf. Ps. 135. 14: 'He
will repent himself concerning his servants.'

54. I know, 'twas this, etc. 'Ea res in primis studia
hominum accendit ad consulatum mandandum M. Tullio
Ciceroni. Namque an tea pleraque nobilitas invidia sestuabat,
et quasi pollui consulatum credebant, si eum quamvis egre-
gius homo no vos adeptus foret. Sed ubi periculum advenit,
invidia atque superbia post fuere' (Sallust, Cat. 23).

ACT III] Notes 167

61. The voice of Rome is the consent of heaven! 'Vox
populi, vox Dei' (Latin proverb).

62. At the helme. Horace, in Od. i. 14, refers to the 'ship
of state.' Cicero himself uses the figure often. In Pro
Murena 35, Cato is represented as saying, 'Tu gubernacula
reipublicae petas ' ; in Pro. Mur. 2, Cicero speaks of Murena
as the captain of a vessel about to encounter grievous storms ;
in In Pisonem 9, occurs this : ' Neque tarn fui timidus, ut,
qui in maximis turbinibus ac fluctibus reipublicae navem
gubernassem, salvamque in portu collocassem ' ; and in
2 Phil. 44 is this : ' Habet populus Romanus ad quos guber
nacula reipublicae deferat.'

64. Each pelty hand, etc. Cf. Seneca. Epistid. Mor.
12. 3. 34 :

' Non tamquam [tempestas] gubernatori, sed tam-
quam naviganti nocet. Alioquin gubernatoris artem
adeo non inpedit, ut ostendat: tranquillo enim, ut
aiunt, quilibet gubernator est. Navigio ista ob-
sunt, non rectori eius, qua rector est.'

66. Gouerne. Although perfectly inteUigible in its sense
of 'control,' this word was probably used by Jonson because
of its suggestion of the Latin guberno, 'to pilot.'

80. A day, an hour is left me. W. thought the con
struction obscure, and proposed to emend to 'Each day and
hour is left me.' It is, however, perfectly clear if we supply
the relative that after hour — supplying an omission very
common not only in the old writers but hi modern poets as
well. See Abbott, Shakes. Gram. § 244.

83. The vicious count their yeeres, etc. A Latin verse,
of unknown authorship, runs :

Sat vixit, bene qui vixit spatium brevis aevi ;
Ignavi numerant tempore, laude boni.

100. HYDRA. One of the labors of Hercules was the
slaying of the Lernaean hydra, a monster with nine heads,
one immortal. See Hesiod, Theog. 313 ff.

101. To fit their properties, etc. 'Having called the

168 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT III

consul "an Herculean actor in the scene," he continues the
metaphor in terms taken from the stage. All necessaries
in the performance of a play, are called properties ; and the
sense is, that it will cost him as much pains to get the proper
implements and material for his scheme, as to act his own
part in it.' — W. The word 'properties,' says Collier, Hist.
Eng. Dram. Poetry 3. 250, was 'technically applied to the
appurtenances of the stage as early as the year 1511.'

113. And made Praetor. A person expelled from the
Senate could be readmitted only by an election as praetor.
Lentulus, as has been noted, had been expelled for profligacy.
See Plutarch, Cic. 17.

120—123. It did not please the gods, etc. Cf. Juvenal,
Sat. 10. 346-351:

Si consilium vis,

Permittes ipsis expendere numinibus quid
Conveniat nobis rebusque sit utile nostris.
Nam pro iucundis aptissima quseque dabunt di.
Carior est illis homo, quam sibi.

'The hypocritical language of Catiline,' says G., 'is artfully
assumed to deceive Q. Catulus, and the consul Antonius, of
whose good opinion and assistance he stood in need.' — But
why need to deceive Antonius, when we have been led to
believe that Catiline has already sounded him about the plot,
and found him amenable ?

137. To stomack your repulse. To resent your defeat.
Cf. Antony and Cleopatra 3, 4. 12 :

Believe not all, or, if you must believe,
Stomach not all.

138. Sir, shee brookes not me. There is a play on words
here. Brook in both its uses in this line means 'endure.'
When Catiline is accused, according to common rumor, of
enduring his defeat ill, he replies that public report does not
endure him. The shee is doubtless due to the feminine of
the Latin Fama.

159. Woodden god. The god of gardens was Priapus,

ACT III] Notes 169

whose statue was usually of wood and often had to serve as
a scarecrow. See Horace, Sat. i. 8.

i()0. ANTONIVS wan it but by some few voices. So
Asconius, In Tog. Can. 22 : 'Antonius pauculis centuriis
Catilinam superavit.'

172. Would it had burnt me vp. There seems to be an
allusion here to the poisoned robe of Nessus, by which Hercules
met his end. For the story, see Ovid, Met. 93. 157 ff.

175. That I could reach the axell, where the pinnes are.
There is a play on words here, the Latin for 'axle' and 'axis '
being the same, axis. The Roman belief was that the earth
was supported on its axis: 'Terra axe sustinetur,' says
Cicero (Tim. 10).

179. Who would not fall, etc. Cf. Seneca, Thyestes
882-885 :

Vitae est avidus, quisquis non vult,
Mundo secum pereunte mori.

190. Make on, vpon the heads. Whalley's advisers would
have had him emend this to make one, i. e., 'make a bridge/
The sense is 'hasten on, proceed.' Cf. Yorkshire Tragedy
i. 8. 214 : 'Up, up, and struggle to thy horse ; make on.'
Cf. also Cat. i. 143: 'As he would Goe on vpon the Gods/
Make on and go on, with upon, signify 'to rush forward with
violence/

192. Of those remaine. For the omission of the relative,
cf. 3. 80, and note.

Then is't a prey, etc. Cf. Lucan, Phars. i. 150-1 :

Impellens quidquid sibi summa petenti
Obstaret, gaudensque viam fecisse ruina.

197. Would fetch downe new. The allusion is to Pro
metheus, who, for stealing fire from heaven, was riveted to Mt.
Caucasus by Jove, and a giant bird sent to feed on his entrails
(Hyginus, Fab. 143). By reversing the situation, Catiline
pays Cethegus a most fulsome compliment.

200. To tire. Tire, as applied to birds of prey, means

170 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT III

'to seize and feed on ravenously, tear apart, rend.' So
Venus and Adonis 55—56 :

Even as an empty eagle, sharp by fast
Tires with her beak on feathers, flesh and bone.

204. Giants wane. The giants were the children of
Gaea (Hesiod, Theog. 50, 185). They waged a severe
contest with the gods, but were defeated. See note on
5- 678.

219—22. The fire you speake of. See Cicero, Pro Mur.
25 : ' Praesertim cum idem ille in eodem ordine paucis
diebus ante, Catoni, fortissimo viro, iudicium minitanti,
ac denuntianti, respondisset, si quod esset in suas fortunas
incendium excitatum, id se non aqua, sed ruina, extincturum.'

230. These things, when they proceed not, they goe
backward : ' Qui non proficit, deficit ' (Latin proverb) .

235 — 241. Is there a heauen ? etc. There is a great
similarity in expression here and in Lucan, Phars. 7. 445 ff. :

Sunt nobis nulla profecto
Numina ; cum caeco rapiantur ssecula casu,
Mentimur regnare lovem. . . .

Mortali nulli
Sunt curata deo.

See also Seneca, Hippolytus 671—674 :

Magne regnator deum,

Tarn lentus audis scelera ? tarn lentus vides ?
Ecquando saeva fulmen emittes manu,
Si nunc serenum est ?

243. His former drifts. For drift in the sense of scheme
or plot, cf. Two Gentlemen of Verona 2. 6. 43 :

Love, lend me wings to make my purpose swift,
As thou hast lent me wit to plot this drift !

248-49. The last affection A high mind can put off.

Cf . Tacitus, Hist. 4. 6 : ' Etiam sapientibus cupido gloriae
novissima exuitur.'
259. All insolent fictions. Insolent, from in (negative)

ACT III]

Notes

171

plus soleo ('to be accustomed'), is a striking instance of
Jonson's Latinisms.

261. The stripes, and wounds of a late Ciuill warre. That
is, the contests of Marius and Sulla.

266. Sinke of monsters. Cf. 'sentina reipublicae' (Cicero,
Cat. 5).

280. The farre-triumphed world. No recognized defini
tion of triumph quite expresses its meaning here. The sense
is, ' the world that has celebrated its triumphs widely ' (farre
being here an adverb), or 'that is far famed for its triumphs.'
For vnto whom Rome is too little, what can be inough P Cf .
Lucan, Phars. 5. 274 : ' Quid satis est, si Roma parum ? '

283—287. These lines are translated in part almost
literally from Florus, Epit. 4. i : 'Additum est pignus
coniurationis sanguis humanis : quern circumlatum pateris
bibere ; summum nefas, nisi amplius esset, propter quod
biberunt.'

296—97. Should Rome . . . Turne most ingrate. Jonson
ever prefers the pure Latin forms of words. For ingrate used
thus as an adjective ('ungrateful'), see The Devil is an Ass
i. 3 (Wks. 5. 33) : 'I were too stupid, or, what's worse, in
grate.'

298. In conscience of the fact. Cf. Milton, P. L. 8. 502 :
'Her vertue and the conscience of her worth.' (Conscience
here== 'consciousness.') The words are practically Cicero's
own. Cf. 2 Phil. 44: 'Etsi enim satis in ipsa conscientia
pulcherrimi facti fructus est.'

So much good deede Reward themselves: 'Virtue is its
own reward' (old proverb).

CICERO, FVLVIA, CVRIVS. Plutarch, Cic. 16, does not
mention Fulvia's interference until the night of the attempt
on Cicero's life, when she went to warn him of his danger.
Florus, in Epit. 4, states that Fulvia revealed the plot after
Cicero's election, but makes no mention of Curius in this
connection. Sallust first mentions Fulvia in Cat. 23, where
she betrays the conspiracy, but not to Cicero, and before
his election. Indeed, he says it was the uneasiness caused
by her reports that led the people to turn to Cicero for

172 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT III

help, and elect him consul. Later, Cicero made use of Fulvia,
for we find the following in Sallust, Cat. 26 : ' Namque a
principio consulatus sui multa pollicendo per Fulviam ef-
ficerat, ut Q. Curius, de quo paulo ante memoravi, consilia
Catilinae sibi proderet.' These lines form the basis for the
scene that follows.

348. To shoot eyes at her. Cf . Volpone 5. 5. (Wks. 3. 305) :
' That I could shoot mine eyes at him, like gunstones ! ' The
same figure occurs in i Hen. VI 4. 7. 79—80 :

O were mine eyeballs into bullets turn'd,
That I in rage might skoot them at your faces !

353. Not wrought for time, etc. Suggested by Horace's
famous lines (Od. 3. 30) : 'Exegi monumentum aere per-
ennius,' etc.

368. He, that is void of feare, may soone be iust. From
Seneca, Octavia 441 : ' Justo esse facile est, cui vacat pectus
metu.'

372. I know, that he is comming. That is, that he is
giving way to your wishes. So, in Volpone 2. 3 (Wks. 3. 222) :
'I hear him coming.' — G.

377. And FVLVIA come i' the rere, or o' the by. Cf.
New Inn (Wks. 5. 352) : 'You had it on the bye, and we
observed it.' — C.

379. Vantage. The verb 'profit,' 'gain.' Spenser has
a similar use of it, F. Q. i. 4. 49 : 'Needlesse feare did never
vantage none.'

392. It is a weaknesse, etc. Cf. Publius Syrus, Sen. 616 :
' Stultum facit fortuna quern volt perdere ' ; also the Latin
proverb : ' Quern dei volunt perdere prius dementant.'

406. Counsaile. Advice. Cf. Cat. 4. 313, and 5. 547.

434-435. The dignitie of truth is lost, With much pro
testing. Cf . Hamlet 3. 2. 240 : ' The lady doth protest too
much, methinks.'

446. Wake. This word in the sense of 'watch' has
already occurred in 3. 90. It survives in this meaning
among the Irish, where to 'wake' is specifically to watch a
night with a corpse. 'Wake' is also used by the Irish as a

ACT III] Notes 173

noun, to denote the vigil. For its use as 'watch/ cf. Moore,
The Gamester i. i : ' 'T was misery enough to wake for him
till then.'

464. They helpe thee by such aides, as geese. See note
on 2. 395.

476—477. And bestow The prouince on him. This fact
is noted in Plutarch, Cic. 12. The province was the rich one
of Macedonia. As Antonius' only anxiety was his debts,
this arrangement effectually weaned him from the conspiracy.
Plutarch further states that Cicero did not even take the
province of Gaul, allotted to him in place of Macedonia.
Sallust, Cat. 26, also has a reference to an arrangement about
the provinces, but is not so specific.

480. So few are vertuous, when the reward's away. Cf .
Juvenal, Sat. 10, 141—2 :

Quis enim virtutem amplectitur ipsam,
Praemia si tollas?

CAESAR, CATILINE. Gifford undoubtedly erred in plac
ing this scene in Catiline's house. Cicero in i Cat. 4, and
Pro Sulla 18, and Sallust in Cat. 27 and 28, mention the
meeting as having taken place at Lecca's house. So also
Jonson, in Cat. 4. 264. Sallust's words are, 'Rursus in-
tempesta nocte coniurationis principes convocat per M. Por-
cium Laecam.' There is no evidence that Caesar ever visited
Catiline, or had any share in this conspiracy ; although he
was suspected, because the gossip of the day had it that
he and Crassus had been deeply implicated in Catiline's
alleged former plot. Caesar's name, however, is throughout
connected with that of Catiline on very slender grounds,
mainly on the untrustworthy evidence of his political op
ponents.

491. me therefore end in few. 'I'll end in a few words.'
Cf. Milton, P. L. 10. 157 : 'He thus to Eve in few.'

505. When it is past, and prosper' d, 'twill be vertue.
Cf . Seneca, Her. Fur. 251—2 :

Prosperum ac felix scelus
Virtus vocatur.

174 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT III

Cf. also Tacitus, Ann. 12. 67 : ' Summa scelera incipi cum
periculo, peragi cum prsemiis.' Cf. also Seneca, Phcedra
606: 'Honesta quaedam scelera successus facit.'

516. Aspired. For the sense, as here, of 'attained,' cf.
Rom. and Jul. 3. i. 122: 'That gallant spirit hath aspir'd
the clouds.'

518. Is a good religious foole. 'Jonson probably uses
religious in the Latin sense, religious generally signifying
"fearful," "superstitious," and so Caesar understands him/
— W. See Aulus Gellius, Nodes Attica 4. 9. i : 'Religen-
tem esse oportet ; religiosum nefas.'

523, 524. A serpent, ere he comes to be a dragon, Do's
eat a bat. This is the Greek proverb, 'Unless a serpent
eat a serpent, he will not become a dragon,' which, Erasmus
says, savours, to him, a little of vulgarity. In Dryden's
(Edipus occurs this passage (Wks., ed. Scott- Sain tsbury,
6. 174) :

A serpent n'er becomes a flying dragon
Till he has eat a serpent.

Cf. ' Serpens, serpentum vorans, fit draco. Peccata, peccatis
superaddita, monstra fiunt' (Hieroglyphica Animalium, per
Archibaldum Simsonum, Dalkethensis Ecclesiae pastor em,
p. 95).— G.

525. What you doe, doe Quickly, SERGIVS. The parallel
ism of phrasing here and in John 3. 27 ('Then said Jesus unto
him, That thou doest, do quickly') is doubtless intentional,
and the connotation achieved is as striking as it is subtle.

534—540. Cf . Sallust, Cat. 24 : ' Per eas se Catilina cre-
debat posse servitia urbana sollicitare, urbem incendere,
viros earum vel adiungere sibi, vel interficere.'

542. Then euer the old potter TITAN knew. Cf. Juvenal,
Sat. 14. 34-5:

Quibus arte benigna
Et meliore luto finxit praecordia Titan.

Prometheus, one of the Titans, according to legend, made the
first man, molding him from clay (Hyginus, Fab. 142 ; Ovid,
Met. i. 2. 76 ff.).

ACT III] Notes 175

552. Piso is dead, in Spaine. Piso had been sent to
Spain, on the breaking up of Catiline's first conspiracy, so
gossip ran, by the state, to keep him where he could do no
mischief. He was murdered (Sallust, Cat. 19) on his way
to his province by a body of Spanish horse in his command ;
in revenge for his barbarity to them, according to one account,
at the instigation of Pompey, according to another.

554. He too's comming backe. Pompey 's return at this
time from his great campaign was being rumored, says
Plutarch (Cic. 18).

557—561. This information is given in Sallust, Cat. 27:
'Igitur C. Manlium Faesulas atque in earn partem Etruriae,
Septimium quendam Camertem in agrum Picenum, C. Julium
in Apuliam dimisit.' Manlius had been an officer in the army
of Sulla, and, having been distinguished for his services, had
been placed at the head of a colony of veterans at Faesulae,
but had squandered his property in extravagance.

563. Behold this siluer eagle. Sallust, Cat. 59 mentions
this as the standard of Marius. Cicero mentions it at least
twice (i Cat. 9) : 'A quo etiam aquilam illam argenteam,
quam tibi, ac tuis omnibus perniciosam esse confido, et
funestam futuram, cui domi tuae sacrarium scelerum tuorum
constitutum fuit, sciam esse praemissam ' ; (2 Cat. 6) : ' Cum
aquilam illam argenteam, cui ille etiam sacrarium scelerum
domi suae f ecerat, scirem esse praemissam. ' The eagle gradual
ly displaced the boars, wolves, and dragons, which the aimies
had formerly borne, and became the national standard.
Pompey used it almost exclusively, and Caesar captured
nearly sixty eagles at Pharsalia.

572. The twentieth, from the firing of the Capitol. 'Ex
libris Sibyllinis regnum Romae tribus Corneliis portendi ;
Cinnam atque Sullam antea, se tertium esse, cui fatum foret
urbis potire ; praeterea ab incenso Capitolio ilium esse vigesi-
mum annum, quern saepe ex prodigiis haruspices respond -
issent bello civili cruentum fore' (Sallust, Cat. 67). Cicero,
3 Cat. 4, gives the same information. See also note on i. 135.

584. Me thinkes our lookes, are not so quicke and high.
Sallust, Cat. 27, states that at this meeting, Catiline com-

176 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT III

plained greatly of his followers' apathy: 'Ibique multa de
ignavia eorum questus.'

585. No ? Whose is not ? 'This is artful. Curius, who
is conscious of his treachery, is quick to avert suspicion.' — G.

597. I think the Saturnalls. Cicero, in 3 Cat. 7, and
Plutarch, in Cic. 18, name this as the date set by the con
spirators. The Saturnalia occurred about the eighteenth
of December, and many of the celebrations survive in the
modern Christmas. The feast was one of absolute relaxation
and merriment. Business houses, law courts, and schools
were closed . Special indulgences were granted to slaves :
they were relieved from all ordinary toil ; were permitted to
wear the pilleus, or badge of freedom ; were granted full
freedom of speech ; and were guests at a banquet, attired in
clothes of their masters, with their masters waiting upon them
at the table (see Macrobius, Sat. i. 7, 10 ; Dio Cassius, Hist.
Rome 40. 19) . The cunning of Catiline in selecting this day
is evident; and the city would be in still further security
because it was deemed sacrilege to begin a war during the
feast. ' Twill be too long- Cethegus was constantly urging
action, says Sallust, Cat. 43 : ' Inter haec parata atque decreta
Cethegus semper querebatur de ignavia sociorum ; illos
dubitando et dies prolatando magnas opportunitates corrum-
pere ; facto, non consulto, in tali periculo opus esse, seque, si
pauci adjuvarent, langeuntibus aliis, impetum in curiam
facturam. Natura ferox, vehemens, manu promptus erat ;
maximum bonum in celeritate putabat.'

615. Why do your hopes, etc. Cf. Plautus, Pseudolus 2.
3. 19: 'Certa amittimus, dum incerta petimus.'

629. Goe all to hell, together in a fleet. A reference to
the speech of Cethegus, i. 247. — G.

630—638. That Longinus was to help fire the city is told
in Cicero, 3 Cat. 6: 'L. Cassium, qui sibi procurationem
incendendae urbis depoposcerat.' That Statilius was to
have part in it, and that the firing was to be done in twelve
places, is found in Sallust, Cat. 43 : ' Statilius et Gabinius
uti cum magna manu duodecim simul opportuna loca urbis
incenderent' (Plutarch, Cic. 18, says it was to be done in a

ACT III] Notes

177

hundred places). That combustibles were laid in at Cethegus'
house is told by Plutarch, Cic. 18 : ' The night appointed for
the design was one of the Saturnalia ; swords, flax, and
sulphur they carried and hid in the house of Cethegus.'
From the same source we learn of the plan to stop the
conduits, etc. : ' Others were appointed to stop up the
aqueducts, and to kill those who should endeavor to carry
water to put it out.'

643. To seize his sonnes. This information is given
in Plutarch, Cic. 18 : 'Lentulus . . . designed ... to spare
nobody, except only Pompey's children, intending to
seize and keep them as pledges of his reconciliation with
Pompey.'

659. Was borne to be my opposition. ' Seque ad exercitum
proficisci cupere, si prius Ciceronem oppressisset ; eum suis
consiliis multum obficere ' (Sallust, Cat. 27).

661. Yet. 'This word is not well understood by modern
critics, who seem to consider it, in such expressions as this
before us, as little more than an expletive. It has, however,
a meaning, and a very good one, though it may be difficult to
define it precisely. It seems to have somewhat of the force
of "notwithstanding," "nevertheless," &c., and can only be
felt in all its force by those who have diligently studied our
old writers, far better judges of the euphony as well as the
power of language than ourselves.' — G.

662—679. Plutarch, in Cic. 16, says that Catiline ordered
Marcius and Cethegus to kill Cicero, under pretext of morning
visitation. On this account, in his effort to be true to aU
authorities, Jonson introduces Cethegus, accounting lamely
for his defection, in line 799 of this Act, by the remark of
Vargunteius, 'He has left it since he might not do't his way.'
The circumstances in the text are mainly from Sallust, Cat.
28 : ' Igitur, perterritis ac dubitantibus ceteris, C. Cornelius,
eques Romanus, operam suam pollicitus, et cum eo L. Vargun
teius, senator, constituere ea nocte paulo post cum armatis
hominibus, sicuti salutatum, introite ad Ciceronem, ac de
improviso domi suae imparatuum confodere.'

178 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT III

663. He shall die, etc. From Seneca, Her. Fur. 642—645 :

Si novi Herculem

Lycus Creonti debitas poenas dabit.
Lentum est dabit : dat ; hoc quoque est lentum : dedit.

669. And vnder the pretext of Clientele. Originally,
a stranger settling in Rome, unable to obtain citizenship,
attached himself as client to some patrician patron, the
relation thus established being known as clientela. The
clients gathered in the morning to greet their patron with
the polite 'Ave.' At this time, the morning visit was more
complimentary than anything else, implying little obligation
on either side, and resembling most closely the levee of men
in authority, so aften pictured in our earlier novels.

695. As TARQVINE did the poppy heads. Sextus, son
of L. Tarquinius Superbus, having gained admittance to
Gabii by a ruse, sent a messenger to his father asking advice
as to the best method of delivering the city. His father
said nothing, but walked up and down, striking off with a
stick the heads of the tallest poppies. Sextus took the hint,
and had the chief men put to death. See Livy, Hist. i. 54.

702. Make haste, and bid him get his guards about him.
So Sallust, Cat. 28 : ' Curius ubi intellegit quantum periculi
consuli impend eat, propere per Fulviam dolum qui parabatur
enunciat.' Plutarch merely states that Fulvia warned
Cicero, telling him especially to beware of Cethegus.

723. My stale, with whom I stalke. Cf. Tempest, 4. i.
187: 'Go bring it hither for stale to catch these thieves.'
The allusion, says G., is to an animal, or representation of
one, under cover of which the fowler stalks unseen, till he
gets within a convenient distance of his game. In its broader
sense, stale is a decoy of any sort. Cf. New Inn, dramatis
persona (Wks. 5. 303) : 'Frank, ... set up as a stale by
Prudence, to catch Beaufort or Latimer.'

736. The brethren sprung o! dragons teeth. See Ovid,
Met. 3. 31 ff.

740. My bloud turne . . . phlegme. Phlegme, in the old
physiology, was one of the four bodily ' humours, ' described

ACT III]

Notes

179

as cold and moist. A superabundance of it was supposed to
make one apathetic and indolent. Cf . the Mirror for Magis
trates (ed. 1609, p. 407) :

They turned their blood to melancholike fleumes.
Their courage hault to cowardise extreame.

785—786. And teach me slacke no pace Tane for the state.

Cicero is not noted for his modesty. He rather loudly pro
claims his disinterested patriotism, and willingness to bear
odium for the public good, in several places, especially in
2 Cat. 7, in the passage beginning, 'O conditionem miseram,
non modo administrandae, verum etiam conservandae reipub-
licam.' See also i Cat. 9, and 2 Cat. 12.

796. The dore's not open, yet. 'Ita illi ianua prohibit!
tan turn f acinus frustra susceperant' (Sallust, Cat. 8).

814—827. These lines are in large part a very close ren
dering of certain of Cicero's own words, as found in the
Catilinarian orations: 'Muta jam istam mentem . . . obli-
viscere caedis atque incendiorum — luce sunt clariora nobis
tua consiliis omnia' (i Cat. 3). 'Jam intelleges multo me
vigilare acrius ad salutem, quam te ad perniciem rei publicae '
(i Cat. 4). 'Ne illi vehementer errant, si illam meam pristi-
nam lenitatem perpetuam sperant futuram' (2 Cat. 3). 'In
eiusmodi certamine ac prcelio, nonne, etiam si hominum
studia deficiant, dii ipsi immortales cogent . . . tot, et tanta,
vitia superari ? ' (2 Cat. u). 'Nam illud non intellego quam
ob rem, si vivere honeste non possunt, perire turpiter velint '
(2 Cat. 10).

816. Leaue to be mad. See Abbott, Shakes. Gram.,
§ 356, for the use of the infinitive. Cf. Epicoene 4. i (Wks.
5. 409) : 'You must leave to live in your chamber'; Cat. i.
495 : 'And, when I leaue to wish this to thee.'

828. Practice. A piece of treachery, a stratagem, a wick
ed combination. The word has already occurred more than
once in this sense in the present play : thus, 3. 241 :

What can excite
Thine anger, if this practice be too light ?

i8o

Catiline his Conspiracy

[ACT III

And again, 3. 388:

Did he ... imagine
The gods would sleepe, to such a Stygian practice ? — G.

840 — 845. There are faint echoes in these lines of a
passage in Seneca, which Jonson may have had in mind.
See Thyestes 802 ff. :

Quae causa tuos limite certo
Deiecit equos? Numquid aperto
Carcare Ditis victi temptant
Bella gig antes? Numquid Tityos
Pectore fesso renovat veteres
Saucius iras?

842. There are no sonnes of earth, that dare Againe
rebellion ? The allusion is to the Gigantomachia, as the
Giants were the sons of Earth (Gaea). See note on 3. 204.

860—861. Cf. SaUust, Cat. n : ' Sed primo . . . ambitio
. . . animos hominum exercebat : quod tamen vitium propius
virtu tem erat.'

866-867. And ne're is filPd, etc. Cf. Lucan, Phars. 2.
657: 'Nil actum credens cum quid super esset agendum.'
Cf. also Juvenal, Sat. 10. 155.

ACT IV

ALLOBROGES. A people of ancient Gaul, principally
settled in Savoy and part of Dauphiny. They were an
unquiet and mutinous people, and their deputies were now at
Rome, with a complaint against their governor, L. Murena,
which the senate had refused to hear. Hence the ill humor
with which they are introduced on the scene, and the readiness
with which they subsequently enter into the views of the
conspirators. — G. The wretched condition of these people
is mentioned by Plutarch, Cic. 18 : ' Whilst these plans were
preparing, it happened there were two ambassadors from the
Allobroges staying in Rome : a nation at that time in a
distressed condition, and very uneasy under the Roman
government. '

ACT IV] Notes !8i

(The storm continued.) 'There is a reference to this
storm, (by which the Capitol appears to have been struck) in
that fine fragment of Cicero's already mentioned. Few of
his contemporaries have anything superior to the following
lines :

Nunc ea Torquato quae quondam, et consule Cotta,
Lydius ediderat Tyrrhenae gentis haruspex,
Omnia fixa tuus glomerans determinat annus,
Nam pater altitonans stellanti nixus Olympo,
Ipse suos quondam tumulos ac templa petivit,
Et Capitolinis injecit sedibus ignes.' — G.

G. had already connected with these portents a scene in Act i.
See my note on i. 309 ff.

i. Can these men feare ? Juvenal, Sat. 13. 223-4,
speaking of the effect of thunder-storms on guilty consciences,
says:

Hi sunt, qui trepidant et ad omnia fulgura pallent,
Cum tonat, exanimes primo quo murmure coeli.

9- But downe-ward, all, like beasts. Cf. Juvenal, Sat. 15.
147 : ' Cuius egent prona et terram spectantia.'

19. If we were bold, and wretched. The expression is
Juvenal's 'fortibus ac miseris,' and the concluding lines a
pretty close translation of his threat to Ponticus, in Sat. 8.
122—125 :

Tollas licet omne, quod usquam est
Auri atque argenti ; scutum gladiumque relinquens
Et jacula et galeam : spoliatis arma supersunt.

30-33- Cf. Horace, Od. 3. 3. 7-8 :

Si fractus illabatur orbis
Impavidum ferient ruinae.

40. FABIVS SANGA. 'Itaque Q. Fabio Sangae, cuius
patrocinio civitas plurimum utebatur' (Sallust, Cat. 41).
The Roman system of 'patronage' at first meant only the
relation between a citizen and aliens whom he took under his
protection. Later the term became much extended. On
conquering a foreign people, the victorious general usually

M2

182 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT IV

became their patron. Sometimes subject-tribes and allies
selected their own patron. The duties of the patron were to
conserve the interests of his clients, to act, in short, as their
ambassador at Rome. Quintus Fabius Sanga, patron of the
Allobroges, was a descendant of Fabius Allobrogicus, the
conqueror of their nation.

41. Whose patronage your state doth vse. See note on 40,
supra.

THE SENATE. This scene is based on the last half of
Sallust, Cat. 31 :

'At Catilinae crudelis animus eadem ilia movebat, tametsi
praesidia parabantur, et ipse lege Plautia interrogatus erat
ab L. Paullo. Postremo dissimulandi causa et ut sui expur-
gandi, sicuti jurgio lacessitus foret, in senatum venit. Turn
M. Tullius consul, sive praesentiam ejus timens, seu ira
commotus, orationem habuit luculentam atque utilem
reipublicae, quam postea scriptum edidit. Sed ubi ille assedit,
Catilina, ut erat paratus ad dissimulanda omnia, demisso
vultu, voce supplici postulare, "Patres conscripti ne quid de
se temere crederent ; ea familia ortum, ita ab adolescentia
vitam instituisse, ut omnia bona in spe haberet : ne existima-
rent, sibi patricio homini, cuius ipsius atque majorum plurima
beneficia in plebem Romanam essent, perdita republica opus
esse, cum earn servaret M. Tullius, inquilinus civis urbis
Romae." Ad hoc maledicta alia cum adderet, obstrepere
omnes, hostem atque parricidam vocare. Turn ille furibundus
" Quoniam quidem circumventus, " inquit, "ab inimicis
praeceps agor, incendium meum ruina restinguam".'

46. More regard. For more in its adjective sense of
'greater,' see Abbott, Shakes. Gram., § 17. Cf. Epicoene i. i
(Wks. 3. 344) : 'How! that's a more portent.'

61. Here, in the house of IVPITER, the STAYER. ' Sena
tum in aedem Jo vis Statoris convocavi' (Cicero, 2 Cat. 6).
As the special protector of Rome, Jove was called 'Stator,'
'the Stayer' (or 'Maintainer').

75-76. But still haue wanted Either your eares, or faith.
Cf. Cicero, 3 Cat. 2 : ' Quoniam auribus vestris propter in-

ACT IVJ

Notes

183

credibilem magnitudinem sceleris minorem fidem faceret
oratio mea.'

88—89. The step To more, and greater. Cf. Cicero, i Cat. 5 :
' Quamquam videbam perniciem meam cum magna calam-
itate reipublicae esse coniunctam.'

90. I would with those preserue it, or then fall. See
Cicero, 2 Cat. 12 : 'Mihi aut cum his vivendum aut pro his
esse moriendum.'

92. See, how his gorget 'peeres aboue his gowne. Gorget
is a piece of throat- armor. The circumstance in the text is
mentioned by Plutarch, Cic. 14, but as having occurred at
the elections, on the occasion of Catiline's second attempt
to secure the consulship, at which time Silanus and Murena
were elected. Cicero himself, in Pro Murena 26, has the
following : ' Descendi in campum . . . cum ilia late insignique
lorica . . . ut omnes boni animadverterent, et, cum in metu
et periculo consulem viderent, id quod est factum, ad opem
praesidiumque concurrerent.'

118. A man ... of no meane house. See note on i. 83.
Cf. Acts 21. 39: 'But Paul said, I am a Jew of Tarsus, in
Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city.'

122—126. Almost literally from Q. Cicero, De Pet. Con.
2.9: ' Natus in patris egestate, educatus in sororis stupris,
corroboratus in caede civium, cuius primus ad rempublicam
aditus (equitibus) R (omanis) occidendis fuit.'

130. I found his mischiefs, sooner, with mine eyes. Cf.
Cicero Pro Ccelio : ' Me ipsum, me, inquam, quondam paene
ille decepit . . . cuius ego facinora oculis prius, quam opinione
manibus ante, quam suspicione deprehendi.'

143. Marginal note : Catiline sits downe, and Cato rises,
from him. That no one would sit by Catiline is recorded by
Plutarch, Cic. 16. Cf. also Cicero, i Cat. 7 : 'Adventu tuo
ista subsellia vacuefacta sunt quod omnes consulares . . .
simul atque adsedisti, partem istam . . . nudam . . . relique-
runt.'

150—155. Cf. Cicero, Pro Mur. 25: 'Dixit duo corpora
esse reipublicae, unum debile, infirmo capite ; alterum nrmum,
sine capite : huic, si ita de se meritum esset, caput se vivo

184 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT IV

non defuturum.' Also Plutarch, Cic. 14: '"What harm,"
said he, "when I see two bodies, the one lean and consumptive
with a head, the other great and strong without one, if I put
a head to that body which wants one ?"

157. Remember who I am, etc. Cf. 'ne existimarent,
sibi patricio homini,' etc., quoted on page 181.

170. Ate. According to Hesiod, Ate was the daughter
of Eris (Strife). She typifies infatuation, especially infat
uation with guilt as its cause and evil as its consequence.

171—462. These lines form in the main a rather close ren
dering of Cicero's first Catilinarian, with omissions of varying
length. Jonson's method may be seen at a glance by a
reference to the appendix on page 312. The parts omitted
are there bracketed. For a discussion of Jonson as a trans
lator, see Introduction.

214. The iawes ... of Hetruria. Etruria lay west of the
river Tiber and the Apennines, extending to the sea, and
included the valley of the Arno. The headquarters of
Catiline's army was Faesulae, the modern Fiesole, situated
on a hill three miles northeast of Florence.

246. Was, on the fifth (the Kalends of Nouember). W.'s
emendation is undoubtedly right, and the line should read :
on the fifth o' the Kalends of November. Q2 omits the parenthe
sis, but lacks the o.' The Kalends, being the first day of the
month, cannot possibly be reconciled with the fifth, except
by reading as above.

252. Against a publique reed. 'Reed here means "a
public decree," "a warning that might be read." So Bacon
in his translation of the First Psalm :

Who never gave to wicked reed
A yielding and attentive ear.' — C.

The meaning in Bacon is rather 'advice.' I take reed here to
mean 'advantage, weal,' so that publique reed is almost
equivalent to the Latin 'res publica. ' Sweet defines reed
(reed) as 'sound policy,' 'benefit* (Stud. Diet, of A.—S.).
331. Which hang but til next Ides. That is, until the

ACT IV]

Notes

money-lenders call in teir loans,
these verses of Horace :

rtj

We have an instance in

Haec ubi locutus foenerator Alfius,

lam iam futurus rusticus,
Omnem redegit idibus pecuniam,

Quaeret kalendis poenere. — W. (Epod. 2. 67 ff).

333. Balls. Fire-balls, probably made of tow, soaked in
pitch or oil.

353. TANTALVS. See Pindar, 01. i. 37 ff. ; Ovid, Met.
4. 457~8- TITYVS. See Hyginus, Fab. 55 ; Ovid, Met.

4- 456-7-

382. AVRELIAN WAY. This highway, known as the
Great Coast Road, extended from the Porta laniculensis
(later the Porta Aurelia) to the coast at Alsium, thence
following the shore of the Mare Inferum, along Etruria and
Liguria, by Genoa, as far as Pisa.

400, 401. I would not giue the Fencer use of one short
houre. 'Fencer' here is probably best rendered by the
Italian term bravo, a hired assassin, a bully. Cf. Twelfth Night
3. 4. 307 : ' They say he has been fencer to the Sophy/

417. Where. Whereas. Cf. i Hen. VI 5. 5. 47:

His wealth doth warrant a liberal dower,
Where Reignier sooner will receive than give.

Also Coriolanus i. i. 104 :

Where the other instruments
Did see, and hear, devise, instruct, walk, feel.

422. As human bodies, labouring with feuers, etc. The
old theory of medicine — abandoned, indeed, only in this
present generation — held that water and cold applications
tended ultimately to increase fevers ; and the method of
curing fevers was by a 'sweating' process.

440—443. The gentlemen of Rome, etc. These lines are
a paraphrase of two omitted bits in i Cat. 8. 21 (vide supra) :
' Sed etiam illi equites Romani . . . quorum ego vix abs te
iam diu manus ac tela contineo.'

462-480. Cf. Sallust, Cat. 31, quoted in note to this Act,

1 86 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT IV

THE SENATE, the lines 'Sed ubi iUe assedit' to 'Ad hoc
maledicta.'
480. A burgesse sonne of Arpinum. Cf. Juvenal, Sat. 8.

237:

Hie novus Arpinus, ignobilis et modo Romae
Municipalis eques.

Lines 480—488 repeat the sentiment of Caesar's speech to
Metellus in Lucan, Phars. 3. 138-141 :

Non usque adeo permiscuit imis
Longus summa dies, ut non, si voce Metelli
Serventur leges, malint a Caesare tolli.

486. Rude, and undigested heape. Cf. Ovid, Met. 1.7:
'Rudis indigestaque moles.'
494—495. Cf . Lucan, Phars. 3. 134—6 :

Vanam spem mortis honestae
Concipis : haud, inquit, iugulo de polluet is to
Nostra, Metelle, manus.

497—499. Cf. Lucan, Phars. 3. 136—7 :

Dignum te Caesaris ira
Nullus honos faciet.

510. The common fire, rather then mine own.

Cf. Sallust, Cat. 31, quoted in note, THE SENATE :

' Quoniam quidem circumventus, . . . ab inimicis prae-
ceps ago, incendium meum ruina restinguam.'
516. See that the common-wealth receiue no losse. ' Sena-
tus decrevit DARENT OPERAM CONSULES NE QUID
RESPUBLICA DETRIMENTI CAPIAT' (Sallust, Cat. 29).
The regular formula of a senate-resolution entrusting the
safety of the state to the consuls was, 'Videant consules
nequid respublica detrimenti capiat ' ; it exempted the con
suls from all obligation to attend to the ordinary forms of
law, and gave then rather summary power over citizens
intriguing against the republic. In I Cat. 2, Cicero mentions
several instances where the consuls promptly put offenders
to death under the powers of this resolution, a notable in-

ACT IV] Notes 187

stance being that of Caius Gracchus. See also Cicero,
i Cat. 2 and Pro Mur. 25, and Plutarch, Cic. 15.

524. CRASSVS, and this CAESAR here ring hollow.
It has been mentioned before that Crassus and Caesar were
both under suspicion of secretly favoring and abetting
Catiline's schemes. Plutarch, Ccesar 7, mentions the suspi
cion as to Caesar, but attaches no great credence to it. Sallust,
Cat. 48 and 49, mentions both Crassus and Caesar in this
connection, but evidently disbelieves the evidence. As-
conius Pedianus, in his comments on In Tog. Cand. (Argu-
mentum), speaking of Catiline's and Antonius' candidacies
for the consulship, says, ' Coierant enim (ambo, ut) Ciceronem
consulatu deicerent, adiutoribus usi firmissimis M. Crasso
et C. Caesare.' This however, is indefinite. At best, it
means nothing more than that Caesar und Crassus preferred
Catiline to Cicero, and there is in it no evidence that they
knew of his plot. Many respectable Romans supported
Catiline for office who would have been horrified had they
known his designs (see Cicero, Pro Coelio 6). Suetonius,
lulius 9, mentions some gossip of a conspiracy in which
Caesar and Crassus were said to have been involved at the
time of the former's aedileship, but no mention is made of
Catiline. The whole story, such as it is, rest as upon no
better evidence than that of Tanusius, whom Seneca calls
a fool ; Bibulus, whom Cicero termed spiteful ; and Curio,
whom Cicero held very cheap. The only thing which lends
any real color to the suspicion is Caesar's determined stand
(on which all the authorities agree), in Act 5, against the
execution of the plotters. That Caesar, however, and Crassus,
too, would gladly have seen Catiline succeed up to a certain
point, where they themselves might step in and seize control,
can scarcely be doubted.

CATILINE, LENTVLVS, etc. The scene that follows,
placed by G. in Catiline's house, is based on Sallust, Cat. 32,
39, and 34:

' Dein se ex curia domum proripuit : ibi multa secum ipse
volvens, quod neque insidiae consuli procedebant, et ab
incendio intelligebat urbam vigiliis munitam, optimum

i88 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT IV

factum credens exercitum augere, ac prius quam legiones
scriberentur antecapere quae bello usui forent, nocte in-
tempesta cum paucis in Manliana castra profectus est. Sed
Cethego atque Lentulo, ceterisque quorum cognoverat
promptam audaciam, mandat, quibus rebus possent, opes
factionis confirment, insidias consuli maturent, caedem,
incendia, aliaque belli facinora parent : sese prope diem cum
magno exercitu ad urbem accessurum.

'lisdem temporibus Romae Lentulus, sicuti Catilina prae-
ceperat, quoscumque moribus aut fortuna novis rebus
idoneos credebat, aut per se, aut per alios sollicitabat ; neque
solum cives, sed cujusque modi genus hominum, quod modo
bello usui foret.

'At Catilina ex itinere plerisque consularibus, praeterea
Optimo cuique litter asmittit : "Se falsis criminibus circum-
ventum, quoniam factioni inimicorum resistere nequiverit,
fortunae cedere, Massiliam in exilium proficisci ; non quo
sibi tanti sceleris conscius esset, sed uti respublica quiet a
foret, neve ex sua contentione seditio oriretur."

STATILIVS. Nothing further than what is recorded in
the play is known of Lucius Statilius, except that he was
of the equestrian order.

558. Massilia. This was a Greek city, now Marseilles,
founded B. C. 600. By reason of its friendship to Rome, it
was allowed to preserve its autonomy, and to exercise un
hampered its own constitution.

565. My better Genius. By identifying Cethegus here
with his good genius, or 'guardian angel/ Catiline pays him
a marked compliment.

572. A valiant man is his own . . . fortune. Cf . Terence,
Phorm. i. 4. 26: 'Fortes fortuna adiuvat.'

576. Dealt, by VMBBENVS, with the ALLOBROGES.
This circumstance is mentioned in Sallust, Cat. 40 : ' Igitur
P. Umbreno cuidam negotium dat, uti legatos Allobrogum
requirat, eosque, si possit, impellat ad societatem belli,
existimans, publice privatimque aere alieno oppresses,
praetera quod natura gens Gallica bellicosa esset, facile eos
ad tale consilium adduci posse/

ACT IV] Notes 189

578. Is discontent with the great vsuries. ' Postquam illos
videt "queri de avaritia magistratum'" (Sallust, Cat. 40).

579—580. And haue made complaints ... but all vaine.
'[Postquam illos videt] accusare senatum, quod in eo aux-
ilii nihil esset ; miseris suis remedium mortem exspectare'
(Sallust, Cat. 40).

583. Still watching after change. Cf. Caesar, De Bell.
Gall. 4. 5: '[Galli] no vis plerumque rebus student.'

591. Soone, at SEMPRONIA'S house. 'Ille eos in do-
mum D. Bruti perducit, quod foro propinqua erat, neque
aliena consilii propter Semproniam' (Sallust, Cat. 40).

597. Let me kill all the Senate, for my share. 'Cethegus
semper querebatur . . . facto, non consulto, in tali periculo,
opus esse ; seque, si pauci adiuvarent, languentibus aliis,
impetum in curiam facturum' (ibid.).

SANGA. See note on 3. 40.

600—612. The basis for these lines is Sallust, Cat. 41 :

'Sed Allobroges diu in incerto habuere, quidnam consilii
caperent. In altera parte erat aes alienum, studium belli,
magna merces in spe victoriae ; at in altera majores opes, tuta
consilia, pro incerta spe certa praemia. Haec illis volventibus
tandem vicit fortuna reipublicae. Itaque Q. Fabio Sangae,
cuius patrocinio civitas plurimum utebatur, rem omnem, uti
cognoverant, aperiunt. Cicero, per Sangam consilio cognito,
legatis praecepit, ut studium conjurationis vehementer simu-
lent, ceteros adeant, bene polliceantur, dentque operam uti
eos quam maxime manifestos habeant.'

606. And being told, there was small hope of ease. Sallust ,
Cat. 40, thus describes the conversation between Umbrenus
and the ambassadors : ' Umbrenus . . . requirere coepit,
"quern exitum tantis malis sperarent?" Postquam illos
videt "quere de avaritia magistratum, accusare senatum
quod in eo auxilii nihil esset : miseriis suis remedium mortem
exspectare": "At ego," inquit, "vobis, si modo viri esse
vultis, rationem ostendam qua tanta ista mala emigiatis."
Haec ubi dixit, Allobroges in maximam spem adducti Umbre-
num orare, uti sui misereretur.'

190 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT IV

612. The fortune of the common-wealth hath conquer'd.

So Sallust, Cat. 41: 'Tandem vicit fortuna reipublicae.'

614. One that had had negotiation. 'Umbrenus, quod in
Gallia negotiatus erat, plerisque principibus civitatium notus
erat, atque eos noverat' (Sallust, Cat. 40).

619. A happy, wish'd occasion. This, and the next two
lines, were evidently suggested by Cicero, 3 Cat. 2 : 'Facul-
tatem mihi oblatam putavi, ut, quod erat difncillimum,
quodque ego semper optabam ab dis immortalibus, tota res
non solam a me, sed etiam a senatu, et a vobis manifesto
deprehenderetur . '

627. By one Vmbrenvs. 'P. Umbreno cuidam' (Sallust,
Cat. 40).

635. To hazard certainties for aire. Cf. 'incerta pro
certis' (Sallust, Cat. 14 and 20).

640. The Senate haue decreed, etc. ' Praeterea [senatus]
decernit, uti consules delectum habeant ; Antonius cum
exercitu Catilinam persequi maturet' (Sallust, Cat. 36).

642. And haue declar'd both him, and MANLIVS tray tors.
'Hsec ubi Romse comperta sunt, senatus Catilinam et Manlium
hostes indicat' (Sallust, Cat. 36).

643—644. METELLVS CELER hath alreadie giuen Part
of their troops defeate. Some of Catiline's lieutenants, whom
he had sent to pave the way for trouble in the provinces,
became over-hasty, and aroused suspicion by their nocturnal
meetings and their transportation of armor and weapons.
Q. Metellus Celer, the praetor, apprehended a number of
these, and imprisoned them, under decree of the senate.
No actual battle is mentioned, however. See Sallust, Cat. 42.

644. Honors are promis'd : ' [Senatus] ceterae multitudini
diem statuit, ante quam sine fraude liceret ab armis discedere '
(SaUust, Cat. 36).

645. Rewards propos'd. 'Ad hoc [senatus addidit] "si
quis indicavisset de coniuratione, quae contra rempublicam
facta erat, praemium servo libertatem et sestertia centum :
libero impunitatem eius rei, et sestertia ducenta" ' (Sallust,
Cat. 30).

653. Not onely any fact, but any practice. Cf. Cicero,

ACT IV]

Notes

191

2 Cat. 12 : 'Cuius ego non mode factum, sed inceptum ullum
conatumve contra patriam deprehendero.'

CICERO, SANGA. Why G. should place this scene in
the house of Brutus, where the conspirators are shortly to
meet, I cannot imagine. It is evident that the consul's own
home is meant. Line 674, We are to meetanone, at BRVTVS
house, shows clearly that this scene cannot be laid at the
home of Brutus.

673—674. ALL. We are to meete anone, at BRVTVS house.

CIC. WHO ? DECIVS BRVTVS ? He is not in Rome.

' Ille eos in domum D. Bruti perducit, quod foro propinqua

erat, neque aliena consilii propter Semproniam ; nam turn

Brutus ab Roma aberat' (Sallust, Cat. 40).

676. Well, faile you not to meete 'hem, etc. 'Cicero

> . . legatis praecepit, at studium coniurationis vehemen-

ter simulent, ceteros adeant, bene polliceantur, dentque

operam uti eos quam maxime manifestos habeant* (Sallust,

Cat. 41).

682. I would haue you preuent. Anticipate, promise be
fore it is asked. This meaning of prevent is a literal trans
lation of the Latin (pre + venio). Cf. Alchem. 2. 1 (Wks 4. 57) :
'Prevent your day at morning/

691. Their letters to your Senate. See note to 770, infra.

SEM PRONIA, LENTVLVS, etc. This interview is on the
authority of Sallust, Cat. 44 : ' Sed AUobroges . . . per Gabi-
nium ceteros conveniunt.' VOLTVRTIVS. Titus Voltur-
cius was a native of Crotona.

718. As honorable spies, etc. Thucydides never uses
this exact term with reference to ambassadors, but none the
less leaves no doubt as their purpose. An alliance being
proposed by the Egesteans, for example, Athens sent ' envoys'
to find out whether the Egesteans really had the money to
support an expedition to Sicily, as they had claimed. See
Thucydides, tr. Jowett, 6. 6, 8, 46. Again, the Lacedaemo
nians, before taking up an alliance with Chios, dispatched
a 'commissioner ... to see whether the Chians had as many
ships as they said, and whether the power of the city was
equal to her reputation' (ibid. 8. 6).

192 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT IV

725. I, at smock-treason. I is again the affirmative
'aye.' Smock-treason evidently means 'marital infidelity.'

731. HIPPOLYTVS. Hippolytus was the son of Theseus
and Hippolyta. Poseidon sent a bull from the deep, which
so terrified the horses of Hippolytus as he was driving on the
shore, that they dragged him, hopelessly entangled in the
reins, to death. See Hyginus, Fab. 47.

755. CAPANEVS. Capaneus was one of the seven
heroes who marched against Thebes. For daring to defy
Jove, he was struck dead by lightning while scaling the
walls, and his body left to hang burning. See Hyginus,
Fab. 71.

760— 761 . And made the world Despaire of day. Cf . Lucan ,
Phar. i. 543:

Gentesque coegit
Desperare diem.

748. Or be a moment, to our enterprise. Moment here
can only be rendered by its literal Latin meaning, 'moving
power,' 'impetus.'

770. To aske our letters. ' [Allobroges] ab Lentulo,
Cethego, Statilio, item Cassio, postulant iusiurandum, quod
signatum ad cives preferant : aliter haud facile eos ad tan turn
negotium impelli posse' (Sallust, Cat. 44).

772—775. 'Lentulus cum his T. Volturcium quemdam,
Crotoniensem, mittit, uti Allobroges prius quam domum
pergerent cum Catilina, data et accepta fide, societatem
confirmarent. Ipse, Volturcio litteras ad Catilinam dat'
(Sallust, Cat. 44).

778. To lay the enuie of the warre on CICERO. ' [Lentulus
cum ceterisj constituerant uti, cum Catilina in agrum Faesu-
lanium cum exercitu venisset, L. Bestia tribunus plebis
concione habita querebatur de actionibus Ciceronis, bellique
gravissimi invidiam optimo consuli imponeret' (Sallust,
Cat. 43).

779. That all but long for his approach. 'Ad hoc mandata
[Lentulus] verbis dat : "... In urbe parata esse quae iusserit ;
ne cunctetur ipse proprius accedere" ' (Sallust, Cat. 44).

ACT IV] Notes !93

783— 792- 'C- Antonius, pedibus aeger, quod proelio adesse
nequibat M. Petreio legato exercitum permittit . . . Homo
militaris, quod amplius annos triginta tribunus, aut praefectus,
aut legatus, aut praetor cum magna gloria fuerat, plerosque
ipsos factaque eorum fortia noverat : ea commemorando
mill turn animos accendebat' (Sallust, Cat. 59).

796. I'le trust it to the manage. Cf. Kyd, Soliman and
Perseda 3. i. 119 :

Wilt thou be our Lieutenant there,
And further us in manage of these wars ?

799. Will stop their course, for Gallia. 'At Q. Metellus
Celer cum tribus legionibus in agro Piceno praesidebat . . . ac
sub ipsis radicubus montium consedit, qua illi descensus erat
in GaUiam properanti* (Sallust, Cat. 57).

801. The Miluian bridge. 'This bridge (Ponte Molle)
was about two miles from Rome. It was built about half a
century before this period by ^milius Scaurus.' — G.

807—811. 'Igitur confirmato animo vocari ad sese iubet
Lentulum, Cethegum, Statilium, Gabinium, item Q. Coepa-
rium quemdam . . . Sine mora veniunt' (Sallust, Cat. 46).
See also Cicero, 3 Cat. 3: 'Cimbrum Gabinium statim ad
me, nihildum suspicantem, vocavi, deinde item arcessitus
est L. Statilius et post eum C. Cethegus : tardissime autem
Lentulus venit.'

823. Though I heare ill. This is the Latin idiom, male
audire, 'to be ill spoken of.' Cf. Alchem. i. i (Wks. 4. 13) :

' I do not hear well.' The play on words here is on
bene audire.

PRAETORS etc. This scene is based on Sallust, Cat. 45 :

' His rebus ita actis, constituta nocte qua proficiscerentur,
Cicero per legates cuncta edoctus L. Valerio Flacco et C.
Pomptino praetoribus imperat, uti in ponte Mulvio per
insidias Allobrogum comitatus deprehendant ; rem omnem
aperit, cujus gratio mittebantur ; cetera, uti facto opus sit,
ita agant, permittit. Illi, homines militares, sine tumultu
praesidiis collocatis, sicuti praeceptum erat, occulte pontem
obsidunt. Postquam ad id loci legati cum Volturcio venere.

194 Catiline his Conspircay [ACT IV

et simul utrimque clamor exortus est, Galli, cito cognito
consilio, sine mora praetoribus se tradunt. Volturcius primo,
cohortatus ceteros, gladio se a multitudine defendit : deinde
ubi a legatis desertus est, multa prius de salute sua Pompti-
nium oUestatm, quod ei notus erat, postremo timidus, ac
vitae diffidens, veluti hostibus sese praetoribus dedit.'

864. In euery doome. ' Doome ' here is evidently private
judgment, rather than formal, public decision. In its use
in the latter sense, it almost always implies an adverse
judgment.

Cf. Spenser, F. Q. 4. 10. 21 :

The which did seeme, unto my simple doome,
The onely pleasant and delightful place.

CHORVS. Although there i; little direct translation
here, the sentiments expressed agree in the main with the
state of mind of the plebs as expressed in Sallust, Cat. 37
and 48, q. v. In the first passage, they welcome the conspi
racy ; in the second, they laud Cicero. In Pro Mur. 17,
Cicero also enlarges on the fickleness of the mob.

893—894. To loue disease : and brooke the cures
Worse, then the crimes. From Livy's preface to his history :
'Ad haec tempora, quibus nee vitia nostra, nee remedia pati
possumus, perventum est.' Cf. Prologue to Alchem. (Wks.
4- 10) :

Howe'er the age he lives in doth endure
The vices that she breeds, above their cure.

ACT V

The opening scene has for its basis a few lines in Sallust,
Cat. 59 : ' Ille [Petreius] cohortes veteranas, quas tumultus
causa conscripserat, in fronte, post eas ceterum exercitum
in subsidiis locat. Ipse equo circumiens, unum quemque
nominans appelat, hortatur, rogat, ut meminerint se contra
latrones inermes pro patria, pro liberis, pro aris atque focis
suis certare.' The details of the speech are filled in from
various sources.

ACT V]

Notes

195

3. Kept from the honor of it, by disease. The 'disease*
was a feigned lameness or gout. Antonius did not wish to
oppose Catiline, whom he had once favored, in person. See
Dio Cassius, Hist. Rom. 37. 40.

5— ii. Cf. Sallust, Cat. 52 : 'Neque [agiturj quantum aut
magnificum imperium populi Romani sit, sed haec, cuiuscum-
que modi videntur, nostra an nobiscum una hostium futura
sint.'

ii— 12. The quarrell is not, now, of fame or tribute,

Or of wrongs, done vnto confederates.

Cf. Sallust, Cat. 52: 'Non agitur de vectigalibus neque de
sociorum injuriis.'

15. For the rais'd temples of th'immortal gods. '[Di
immortales] jam non procul, ut quondam solebant, ab externo
hoste atque longinquo, sed hie praesentes suo numine atque
auxilio sua templa atque urbis tecta defendunt' (Cicero,
2 Cat. 13),

16—17. For all your fortunes, altars, and your tires,
For the deare soules of your lou'd wiues, and

children.

Cf. 'Pro patria, pro liberis, pro aris atque focis suis,' quoted
supra from Sallust, Cat. 59 ; also, Cicero, 4 Cat. 9 : ' Praeterea
de vestra vita, de conjugum vestrarum atque liberorum anima,
de fortunis omnium, de sedibus, de focis vestris, hodierno
die vobis judicandum est.'

20. Against such men. The description of Catiline's
troops that follows is based on a similar one in Cicero, 2 Cat.
8-n.

22. SYLLA'S old troops. These come third in Cicero's
classification : ' Tertium genus est ... Hi sunt homines ex
iis coloniis, quas Faesulis Sulla continuit . . . qui se insperatis,
repentinisque pecuniis sumptuosis, insolentiusque jactarent.
Hi ... in tantum aes alienum inciderent, ut, si salvi esse
velint, Sulla sit iis ab imperis excitandus' (Cicero, 2 Cat. 9).
See also Sallust, Cat. 16 : 'Aes alienum per omnis terras
ingens erat, et . . . plerique Sullani milites, largius suo usi,
rapinarum et victoriae veteris memores civile bellum exopta-

it.'

x

196 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT V

32. The second sort. This is Cicero's sixth and last
class : ' Postremum autem genus est : . . . quod proprium est
Catilinse, de ejus delectu, immo vero de complexu ejus, ac
sinu . . . quorum omnis industria vitae et vigilandi labor in
antelucanis cenis expromitur ... Hi pueri tarn lepidi ac
delicati non solum amare et amari, neque saltare et cantare,
sed etiam sicas vibrare, et spargere venena didicerunt'
(Cicero, 2 Cat. 10).

38-42. Cf. Horace, Od. 3. 24. 54 ff. :

Nescit equo rudis
Haerere ingenuus puer

Venarique timet, ludere doctior,
Seu Graeco iubeas trocho

Seu malis vetita legibus alea.

43. And these will wish more hurt to you, then they

bring you. From Cicero's description of his first class
(2 Cat. 8) : ' Sed hosce homines minime puto pertimescendos,
quod . . . magis mihi videntur vota facturi contra rempubli-
cam quam arma laturi.'

44. The rest are a mixt kind, &c. This description is
partly from that of Cicero's fifth class, partly from that of
his sixth. Cf. ' Quintum genus est parricidarum, sicariorum,
denique omnium facinorosorum. ... In his gregibus omnes
aleatores, omnes adulteri, omnes impuri impudicique versan-
tur' (Cicero, 2 Cat. 10).

54. And pour'd, on some inhabitable place. I. e. , ' uninha
bitable ' ; in this sense it is used by Shakspere :

Even to the frozen ridges of the Alps,

Or any other ground inhabitable. — W. (Richard II.

i. i. 65.)

55. Where the hot sunne, and slime breeds nought but
monsters. For the following parallel passages, and original
source of the curious belief that the sun could hatch monsters
from slime, I am indebted to Professor Cook (see his note
in the New York Evening Post, March 17, 1913) :

'Your serpent of Egypt is bred now of your mud by

ACT VJ

Notes

197

the operation of your sun; so is your crocodile' (Ant. and
Cleop. 2. 7. 30 ff.). Cf. also ibid. i. 3. 69; and Milton, P. L.
10. 529 ff. :

Now Dragon grown, larger than whom the Sun
Ingendered in the Pythian vale on slime,
Huge Python.

Cf. also Spenser, F. Q. i. i. 31. The source is Ovid, Met. i.
416 ff . LI. 434—38 are especially applicable here :

Ergo ubi diluvio tellus lutulenta recenti
Solibus aethereis, almoque recanduit aestu ;
Edidit innumeras species ; partimque figuras
Retulit antiquas ; partim nova monstra creavit.

61. There are several Biblical echoes in this passage.
Cf. Ecclesiasticus 24. 8, n : 'And he that made me caused
my tabernacle to rest. . . . Likewise in the holy city he gave
me rest ' ; and Luke 16. 19 ff . — the parable of Lazarus and
Dives. See also Psalms 61. 4.

71. Their letter. Plutarch, Cic. 15, mentions the letter-
incident, but credits Crassus with all good faith in turning
the letters over to Cicero. Crassus received, according to
Plutarch, a packet of letters, directed to different persons.
The one to himself was unsigned, but gave warning to him to
leave the city before the massacre intended by Catiline began.
Terrified at this news, he delivered the entire packet to
Cicero. The consul the next day in open senate delivered the
letters, asking that they be read. All gave the same account
of the conspiracy.

77. I haue . . . ply'd him. Suetonius, lulius 17, mentions
Caesar's giving intelligence of Catiline to Cicero.

86. I will not be wrought to it. Cf . Sallust, Cat. 49 :
' Sed . . . Q. Catulus et C. Piso neque precibus neque gratia
neque pretio Ciceronem impellere potuere, uti per Allobroges
aut alium C. Caesar falso nominaretur.'

101. Send LENTVLVS forth, etc. 'Consul Lentulum . . .
ipse manu tenens in senatum perducit, reliquos cum custodi-
bus in aedem Concordiae venire iubet' (Sallust, Cat. 46).

N2

198 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT V

THE SENATE. This scene is taken largely from Cicero,
3 Cat. 26, which was addressed to the people, not to the
senate, relating the measures taken by the magistracy for
the safety of the state, and giving an account of a meeting of
the senate just concluded.

105. Breake these letters. The letters (Cicero, 3 Cat. 3)
were delivered to the praetors unbroken on the arrest of the
conspirators at the Milvian bridge, and Cicero would not
consent to open them except in open senate.

105—108. Cf. 'etenim, Quirites, si ea quae erant ad me
delata reperta non essent, tamen ego non arbitrar, in tantis
reipublicae periculis, esse mihi nimiam diligentiam pertimes-
cendam' (Cicero, 3 Cat. 3).

109. The weapons . . . from CETHEGVS house. ' C. Sul-
picium praetorem . . . misi, qui ex aedibus Cethegi si quid
telorum esset efferret : ex quibus ille maximum sicarum nume-
rum et gladiorum extulit' (Cicero, 3 Cat. 3).

117—118. Although the greatnesse o! the mischief e . . .
Hath often made my faith small. Cf . Cicero, 3 Cat. 2 : ' Quo-
niam auribus vestris, propter incredibilem magnitudinem
sceleris, minorem fidem faceret oratio mea.'

119—129. Almost literally from Cicero, 3 Cat. 2: 'Nam
turn, cum ex urbe Catilinam ejiciebam (non enim jam vereor
huius verbi invidiam, cum ilia magis fit timenda, quod vivus
exierit) sed turn, cum ilium exterminari volebam, aut reliquam
conjuratorum manum simul exituram . . . putabam. Atque
ego, ut vidi quos maximo furore et scelere esse inflammatos
sciebam eos nobiscum esse, et Roman ae remanisse, in eo
omnis dies noctis que consumpsi ut quid agerent . . . senti-
rem ... ut ... rem ita comprehenderem, ut turn demum
animus saluti vestrae provideretis, cum oculis maleficium
ipsum videretis.'

131- Bring in VOLTVRTIVS, &c. 'Volturcium cum le-
gatis introducit' (Sallust, Cat. 46).

133—148. Sallust, Cat. 47, has the following: 'Voltur-
cius interrogatus de itinere, de litteris, postremo quid aut de
causa consilii habuisset, primo fingere alia, dissimulare de
coniuratione ; post ubi fide publica dicere iussus est, omnia,

ACT V] Notes 199

uti gesta erant, aperit docetque se paucis ante diebus a
Gabinio et Caepario socium adscitum.' The main source
of information here, however, seems to be Cic. 3 Cat. 4 :
' Introduxi Volturcium . . . fid em publicam jussu senatus
dedi : hortatus sum, et ea quae sciret sine timore indicaret.
Turn ille dixit, cum vix se ex magno timore recreasset, ab
Lentulo se habere ad Catilinam mandata et litteras, ut servo-
rum praesidio uteretur, et ad urbem quam primum cum
exercitu accederet : id autem eo consilio, ut, cum urbem ex
omnibus partibus quern ad modum descriptum distributum-
que erat incendisset, caedemque infinitam civium fecissent,
praesto esset ille, qui et fugientis exciperet, et se cum his
urbanis ducibus conjungeret.'

148—151. For this speech of the Allobroges, cf. Cicero,
3 Cat. 4 : ' Introducti autem Galli jus jurandum sibi et
litteras ab Lentulo, Cethego, Statilio ad suam gentem data
esse dixerunt, atque ita sibi ab his et a L. Cassio esse
praescriptum, ut equitatum in Italiam quam primum mit-
terent.'

155—167. 'Tabellas proferri jussimus, quae a quoque
dicebantur datae. Primum ostendimus Cethego signum :
cognovit. Nos linum incidimus : legimus . . . Turn Cethegus,
qui paulo ante aliquid tamen de gladiis ac sicis, quae apud
ipsum erant deprehensa, respondisset, dixissetque se semper
bonorum ferramentorum studiosum fuisse, recitatis litteris
debilitatus atque abjectus conscientia repente conticuit'
(Cicero, 3 Cat. 5).

168—194. 'Introductus est Statilius: cognovit et signum
et manum suam. Recitatae sunt tabellae in eandem fere
sententiam : confessus est. Turn ostendi tabellas Lentulo, et
quaesivi cognosceretne signum. Adnuit "Est vero," in-
quam, "notum quidem signum, imago av tui, clarissimi viri,

qui amavit unice patriam et civis suos
tanto scelere etiam muta revocare debuit.

quae quidem te a
Leguntur eadem

ratione ad senatum Allobrogum populumque litterae. Si
quid de his rebus dicere vellit, feci potestatem. Atque ille
primo quidem negavit ; post autem aliquanto, toto jam in-
dicio exposito atque edito, surrexit ; quaesivit a Gallis quid

2OO Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT V

sibi esset cum eis, quam ob rem domum suam venissent,
itemque a Volturcio. Qui cum illi breviter cons tan terque
respondissent, per quern ad eum quotiensque venissent,
quaesissentque ab eo nihilne secum de f atis Sibyllinis l locutus,
turn ille subito, scelere demens, qua conscientiae vis esset
ostendit. Nam cum id posset infitiaii, repente opinionem
omnium confessus est' (Cicero, 3 Cat. 5).

197. AVTRONIVS, etc. 'Tantummodo audire solitum
ex Gabinio, P. Autronium, Ser. Sullam, L. Vargunteium,
multos praeterea in ea coniuratione esse' (Sallust, Cat. 47).

202. I was drawne in, by . . . CIMBER. ' [Volturcius]
docet se paucis ante diebus a Gabinio et Caepario socium
adscitum' (Sallust, Cat. 47).

204. Where is thy visor? In its sense, as here, of 'pre
tence,' visor also appears in Epicoene, 2. 2 (Wks. 3. 367) :
'Off with this vizor.'

204—209. 'Ita [LentulumJ non modo ingenium illud et
discendi exercitatio, qua semper valint, sed etiam propter
vim sceleris manifesti atque deprehensi impudentia, qua
superabat omnis, improbitasque defecit' (Cicero, 3 Cat. 5).

210. The enginer of all. Cf. Cicero, 3 Cat. 3: 'Horum
omnium scelerum improbissimum machinatorum Cimbrum
Gabinium.'

211. I know nothing, etc. ' Gabinius deinde introductus,
cum primo impudentur respondere coepisset, ad extremum
nihil ex eis quae Galli insimulabant negavit ' (Cicero, 3 Cat. 5).

214. Is there a law for't, etc. Cf . Martial, Epig. 2. 60 :

lam mihi dices
'Non licet hoc.' Quid? tu quod facis, Hylle, licet?

227. Or beg, o' the bridges. The bridges were the usual
stations for Roman beggars. Thus Juvenal: 'Nulla crepido
vocat ? Nusquam pons et tegetis pars dimidia brevior ? '

' Lentulum autem sibi confirmasse ex fatis Sibyllinis, aruspicum-
que responsis se esse tertium Cornelium, ad quern regnum hujus
urbis, atque imperium pervenire esset necesse . . . eundemque
dixisse, fatalem hunc esse annum ad interitum hujus esset . . . post
Capitolii autem incensionem vicesimus' (Cicero, 3 Cat. 4).

ACT V] Notes 201

(Sat. 5. 8—9.) — G. Cf. also Juvenal, Sat. 4. 116, and Sat.

14- 135-
230—231. By such a cloud of witnesses. Cf. Hebrews 12.

i : ' Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so
great a cloud of witnesses.'

233—240. Almost literally from Cicero, 3 Cat. 7 : ' Quern
quidem ego cum ex urbe pellebam, hoc providebam animo,
Quirites, remoto Catilina, nee mini esse P. Lentuli somnum,
nee L. Cassii adipem, nee Cethegi furiosam temeritatem
pertimescandam. Ille erat unus timendus ex his omnibus,
sed tamdiu, dum mcenibus urbis continebatur.'

240 ff. Where was there A people grieu'd, &c. Suggested
by Cicero, 3 Cat. 9 : ' Quid vero ? Ut homines Galli ex
civitate male pacata, quae gens una restat quae bellum populo
Romano facere posse, et non nolle videatur, spem imperil
ac rerum maximarum ultro sibi a patriciis hominibus oblatam
neglegerent vestramque salutem suis opibus anteponerent :
id nonne divinitus esse factum putatis ? '

247—272. These lines follow closely, in parts so closely
as to be virtually a translation, sections of Cicero, 4 Cat.
Cf. 'Atque eo tempore hujus avus Lentuli, vir clarissimus,
armatus Gracchum est persecutus. Ille etiam grave turn
volnus accepit, ne quid de summa republica deminueretur :
hie ad evertenda reipublicae fundamenta Gallos arcessit,
servitia concitat, Catilinam vocat, attribuit nos trucidandos
Cethego, et ceteros civis interficiendos Gabinio, urbem in-
flammandam Cassio, to tarn Italiam vastandam diripiendam-
que Catilinse' (Cicero, 4 Cat. 6). Also: 'Videor enim mihi
videre hanc urbem, lucem orbis terrarum, atque arcem
omnium gentium, subito uno incendio concidentem. Cerno
animo sepulta in patria miseros atque insepultos acervos
civium. Versatur mihi ante oculos aspectus Cethegi, et
furor in vestra caede bacchantis. Cum vero mihi proposui
regnantem Lentulum, sicut ipse ex fatis se sperasse confessus
est, purpuratum esse huic Gabinium, cum exercitu venisse
Catilinam, tarn lamentationem matrum famih'as, turn fugam
virginum Vestalium perhorresco' (Cicero, 4 Cat. 6).

281—286. This disposition of the conspirators in custody

202 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT V

is given in Sallust, Cat. 47 : ' Itaque Lentulus P. Lentulo
Spintheri, qui turn aedilis erat, Cethegus Q. Cornificio, Stati-
lius C. Carsari, Cabinius M. Crasso . . . traduntur.'

289. Let LENTVLVS put off his Praetor-ship. It was
contrary to law, or at least to custom, to imprison one of the
higher officers during his tenure of office. See Cicero, 3 Cat. 6 :
'Nam P. Lentulus, . . . quamquam patefactis indiciis, con-
fessionibus suis, judicio senatus non modo praetoris jus, verum
etiam civis amiserat . . . tamen magistratu se abdicavit, ut,
quse religio C. Mario, clarissimo viro, non fuerat, quo minus
C. Glanciam, de quo nihil nominatim erat decretum, praetor em
occideret, ea nos religione in private P. Lentulo puniendo
liberaremur.' See also Sallust, Cat. 47: 'Senatus decernit,
uti abdicate magistratu Lentulus itemque ceteri in liberis
custodiis habeantur.'

293. What do you decree to th' ALLOBROGES? 'Dum
haec in senatu aguntur et dum legatis Allobrogum et T.
Volturcio, conprobato eorum indicio, praemia decernuntur'
(Sallust, Cat. 50).

298. What to VOLTVRTIVS? See note on 293.

300. Want made thee a knave. Cf . Horace, Od. 3 . 24, 42—3 :

Magnum pauperis opprobrium iubet
Quid vis et facere et pati.

301-302. Let FLACCVS, and POMPTINIVS, the Praetors,
Haue publike thankes. 'Deinde L. Flaccus et C. Pomptinus
praetores, quod eorum opera forti fidelique usus essem, merito
ac jure laudantui ' (Cicero, 3 Cat. 4).

305-306. Whose vertue, counsell, watchfulness, and wisedome,
Hath freed the common-wealth. Cf. 'quod virtute, con-
silio, providentia mea respublica maximis periculis sit liberata '
(Cicero, 3 Cat. 6).

306—307. And without tumult, Slaughter, or bloud, or
scarce raysing a force. Cf . ' Erepti sine caede, sine sanguine,
sine exercitu, sine dimicatione' (Cicero, 3 Cat. 10). Also:
' Sine tumultu, sine dilectu, sine armis, sine exercitu . . . rem-
publicam liberavi' (Cicero, Pro Sul. n).

309—310. Cf. note on 5. 15.

ACT V] Notes 203

312. A ciuicke garland: 'Mihi, L. Gellius his audientibus
civicam coronam debere a republica dixit' (Cicero, In Pis. 3).

313. He is the onely father of his contrey. ' Me Q. Catulus
. . . frequentissimo senatu parentem patriae nominavit ' (Cicero,
In Pis. 3). In Plutarch, Cic. 22, the people hail Cicero as
'savior and founder of his country.' This was after the death
of the conspirators. In Plutarch, Cic. 23, Cato calls him
'father of his country.' Appian, Civil Wars 2. i. 7, also
states that it was Cato who first caused Cicero to be called
by the title in the text. This also was after the conspirators
had been executed.

314—319. 'Atque etiam supplicatio dis immortalibus pro
singulari eorum merito meo nomine decreta est, quod mihi
primum post hanc urbem conditam togato contigit. Et
his verbis decreta est: "quod urbem incendiis, caede civis,
Italiam bello liberassem " ' (Cicero, 3 Cat. 6) . The uniqueness
of this fact has been overlooked by most of the authorities.
See, however, Dio Cassius, Hist. Rom. 37. 36.

321. First of the civil robe. 'He means, the first who
obtained a victory over the enemies of the State, without
changing the garments usually worn in time of peace. It
is well known that Cicero valued himself much on this singular
circumstance.' — W. 9

325. Cf. 'Et si non minus nobis jucundi atque illustres
sunt ei dies quibus conservamur, quam illi quibus nascimui,
quod salutis certa laetitia est, nascendi incerta condicio ; et
quod sine sensu nascimur, cum voluptate servamur . . . pro-
fecto, quoniam ilium qui hanc urbem condidit ad deos immor-
talis benevolentia famaque sustulimus, esse apud vos posteros-
que vestros in honore debebit is qui eandem hanc urbem
conditam amplificatamque servavit* (Cicero, 3 Cat. i).

336. Let it be added to our Fasti. See Dio Cassius, Hist.
Rom. 37. 36 : 'And over them [the conspirators] a sacrifice
and period of festival was decreed, — something that had
never before happened from any such cause.'

337. Here's one TARQvimvS taken. The incident of
Tarquinius, including Crassus' charge that Cicero invented
the whole matter himself, is given in Sailust, Cat. 48 : ' Post

204 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT V

eum diem quidam L. Tarquinius ad senatum adductus erat,
quern ad Catilinam proficiscentem ex itinere retractum aie-
bant . . . Praeterea se missum a M. Crasso, qui Catilinae
nuntiaret, ne eum Lentulus et Cethegus aliique ex conjura-
tione deprehensi terrerent, eoque magis properaret ad urbem
accedere, quo et ceterorum animos reficeret et illi facilius e
periculo eriperentur. Sed ubi Tarquinius Crassum nomina-
vit, hominem nobilem, maxumis divitiis, summa potentia,
alii rem incredibilem rati, pars tametsi verum existumabant,
tamen quia in tali tempore tanta vis hominis magis leniunda
quam exagitanda videbatur, plerique Crasso ex negotiis
privatis obnoxii, conclamant indicem falsum esse, deque ea
re postulant uti refer atur. Itaque consulente Cicerone
frequens senatus decernit, Tarquini indicium falsum videri,
eumque in vinculus retinendum, neque amplius potestatem
faciundam, nisi de eo indicaret, cujus consilio tantam rem
esset mentitus. . . . Ipsum Crassum ego postea prsedicantem
audivi, tantam illam contumeliam sibi ab Cicerone impositam.'

340. Some lying varlet. Varlet was originally a youth of
noble or knightly birth, serving an apprenticeship in knightly
exercises and accomplishments while awaiting knighthood ;
hence (because such youths served as pages or personal ser
vants to the knights who had charge of them), a body-
servant or attendant ; hence, any menial ; finally, a term of
contempt or reproach, 'rascal, rogue.' The word survives
in a changed sense in valet. — C. D.

351. Here is a libell, too. Libell originally was 'a little
book' (libellus, diminutive of liber); then a written paper
of any sort. Specifically, in law (and it is in this sense that
Jonson here uses it), it was a statement of the charge or
charges on which a prosecution took place. The incident
of Vectius, including the part of Curius in it, and the stoppage
of the latter 's pay, are given in Suetonius, lulius 17 : ' [Caesar]
inter socios Catilinae nominatus . . . a. L. Vettio Judice, et . . .
a Q. Curio : cui, quod primus consilia conjuratorum detexte-
rat, constituta erant publice praemia. Curius, e Catilina se
cognovisse, dicebat : Vettius etiam chirographum ejus,
Catilinae datum, pollicebatur. Id vero Caesar nullo modo

ACT V]

Notes

205

tolerandum existimans, cum, implorato Ciceronis testimonio,
quaedam de se conjuratione ultro ad eum detulisse, docuisset,
ne Curio praemia darentur effecit.'

367—420. The circumstances surrounding Catiline's speech
to his army are given in Sallust, Cat. 57: 'Sed Catilina
postquam videt montibus atque copiis hostium sese clausum,
in urbe res adversas, neque fugae neque praesidi ullam spem,
optimum factu ratus in tali re fortunam belli temptare,
statuit cum Antonio quam primum confligere. Itaque
contione advocata hujusce modi orationem habuit' (the
speech follows). The speech itself is lifted almost bodily
from Sallust, Cat. 58. I give it here complete as found in
Sallust, bracketing the omissions made by Jonson :

'Compertum ego habeo, milites, verba virtutem non
addere, neque ex ignavo strenuum neque fortem ex timido
exercitum oratione imperatoris fieri. Quanta cujusque animo
audacia natura aut moribus inest, tanta in bello patere solet.
Quern neque gloria neque pericula excitant, nequidquam
hortere ; timor animi auribus officit. Sed ego vos, quo pauca
monerem, advocavi ; simul uti causam mei consili aperirem.
Scitis equidem, milites, socordia atque ignavia Lentuli quan-
tam ipsi nobisque cladem attulerit, quoque modo, dum ex
urbe praesidia opperior, in Galliam proficisci nequiverim.
Nunc vero quo loco res nostrae sint, juxta mecum omnes
intellegitis. Exercitus hostium duo, unus ab urbe, alter a
Gallia obstant. Diutius in his locis esse, si maxume animus
ferat, frumenti atque aliarum rerum egestas prohibet. Quo-
cumque ire placet, ferro iter aperiundum est. Quapropter
vos moneo, uti forti atque par a to animo sitis, et cum proelium
inibitis, memineritis vos divitias, decus, gloriam, praeterea
libertatem atque patriam in dextris vostris portare. Si
vincimus, omnia nobis tuta erunt, commeatus abunde,
municipia atque coloniae patebunt : si metu cesserimus, eadem
ilia advorsa fient, neque locus neque amicus quisquam teget,
quem arma non texerint. Praeterea, milites, non eadem nobis
et illis necessitudo impendet ; nos pro patria, pro libertate,
pro vita certamus, illis supervacaneum est pro potentia
paucorum pugnare. (Quo audacius aggrediamini, memores

2o6 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT V

pristinae virtu tis.) Licuit vobis cum summa turpitudine in
exsilio setatem agere ; potuistis nonnulli Romae amissis bonis
alienas opes exspectare : quia ilia foeda atque intoleranda
viris videbantur, haec sequi decrevistis. (Si haec relinquere
voltis, audacia opus est ;) nemo nisi victor pace bellum
mutavit. Nam in fuga salutem sperare, cum arma, quibus
corpus tegitur, ab hostibus avorteris, ea vero dementia est.
(Semper in proelio eis maxumum est periculum, qui maxume
timent ; audacia pro muro habetur.) Cum vos considero,
milites, et cum facta vostra aestumo, magna me spes victoriae
tenet. (Animus, aetas, virtus vostra me hortantus ; prae-
terea necessitudo, quae etiam timidos fortes facit. Nam
multitudo.hostium ne circumvenire queat, prohinent angustiae
loci.) Quod si virtu ti vostrae fortuna inviderit, cavete,
inulti animam amittatis, neu capti potius sicut pecora tru-
cidemini, quam virorum more pugnantes cruentam atque
luctuosam victoriam hostibus relinquatis.'

It will be noticed that Jonson does not follow exactly the
order of Sallust. For instance, in 11. 378—79, Jonson skips
from ' Scitis quidem,' etc., to ' Nunc vero quo loco,' etc. ; but
catches up the omitted passage in 11. 380—85. Again, in
11. 403—09, he skips from 'Praeterea milites/ etc., to 'Licuit
vobis,' etc., giving the substance of the omitted portion in
11. 409—10.

381. Expect. 'Await' (Lat. exspecto)! Cf. 563, infra.

412 ff. Methinks I see Death, etc. ' The image here given
is extremely sublime, and approaches very nearly to those
terrible graces, which the critic has attributed to Homer
amongst the ancients, and which Shakespeare possessed in
a manner superior to any modern whatsoever.' — W.

420 ff. This meeting of the senate is described in full in
Sallust, Cat. 50—55. Cicero here delivered his fourth oration
against Catiline. See also Plutarch, Cic. 20—21.

424—432. Cf. Sallust, Cat. 50: 'Liberti et pauci ex
clientibus Lentuli diversis itineribus opifices atque servitia
in vicis ad eum eripiundum sollicitabant, partim exquirebant
duces multitudinem, qui pretio rem publicam vexare soliti
erant. Cethegus autem per nuntios familiam atque libertos

ACT VJ

Notes

207

suos, lectos et exercitatos in audaciam, orabat ut grege facto
cum telis ad sese irrumperent.' See also Cicero, 4 Cat. 8.

433. With present counsailes. In 4 Cat. 3, Cicero urges
action 'ante noctem.' Counsailes = 'schemes, plans.'
Cf. 4. 183 and 5. 377.

434. We haue done what we can. Sallust, Cat. 50, states
that Cicero had distributed armed bands around the city.
Dio Cassius, Hist. Rom. 37. 35, says that Cicero had the
praetors administer the oath of enlistment to the people,
so that they might instantly be called upon to act.

436. What is your pleasure, Fathers, shall be done?
'Consul . . . convocato senatu refert, quid de eis fiere placeat'
(Sallust, Cat. 50).

437—446. 'Video adhuc duas esse sententias : unam
D. Silani, qui censet eos, qui haec delere conati sunt, morte
esse multandos (Sallust, Cat. 50, and all the authorities
represent Syllanus as voting for capital punishment) . . . eos
qui nos omnis, qui populum Romanum, vita privare conati
sunt, qui delere imperium, qui populi Romani nomen exstin-
guere, punctum temporis frui vita et hoc communi spiritu
non putat oportere' (Cicero, 4 Cat. 4).

437- SYLLANVS . . . Consul next design'd. It was custo
mary for the magistrate-elect to give his judgment first, as
one who would have most to do with the execution of the
decrees, and so most likely to give careful consideration to
new measure (see Appian, Civil Wars 2. 5). All the
authorities state that it so happened in this case, but Jonson
is undoubtedly following Sallust, Cat. 55, as 'designed' in
the text echoes designatus in the Latin.

444. An article of time, or eye of light. 'Article ' here means
'moment'; its sense is literally 'a joining' (Lat. articulus),
that is, a nick of time joining two successive periods. 'Eye'
is used in a very figurative sense, denoting a minute portion.

447—498. The speech of Caesar here given is condensed
from the one attributed to him in Sallust, Cat. 51. Cf.
'Omnes homines, patres conscripti, qui de rebus dubiis con
sultant, ab odio, amicitia, ira atque misericordia vacuos esse
decet. Haud facile animus verum providet, ubi ilia offici-

208 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT v

unt. . . . Hoc item vobis providendum est, patres conscript!,
ne plus apud vos valeat P. Lentuli et ceterorum scelus quam
vostra dignitas ; neu magis irse vostrae quam famae consulatis.
Nam si digna poena pro factis eorum reperitur, novum
consilium approbo ; sin magnitudo sceleris omnium ingenia
exsuperat, eis utendum censeo, quae legibus comparata
sunt. . . . Qui demissi in obscuro vitam habent, si quid
iracundia deliquere, pauci sciunt ; fama atque for tun a eorum
pares sunt : qui magno imperio praediti in excelso aetatem
agunt, eorum facta cuncti mortales novere. Ita in maxuma
for tuna minuma licentia est ; neque studere, neque odisse,
sed minume irasci decet ; quae apud alios iracundia dicitur,
ea in imperio superbia atque crudelitas appellatur. . . . D.
Silanum, virum fortem atque strenuum, certo scio, quae
dixerit, studio rei publicae dixisse, neque ilium in tanta re
gratiam aut inimicitias exercere ; eos mores eamque modestiam
viri cognovi. Verum sententia ejus mihi non crudelis . . .
quid enim in tales homines crudele fieri potest ? . . . sed
aliena a re publica nostra videtur. Nam pro fee to aut metus
aut injuria te subegit, Silane, consulem designatum, genus
poenae novum decernere. De timore supervacaneum est
disserere, cum praesertim diligentia clarissumi viri, consulis,
tanta praesidia in armis. De poena possum equidem dicere
id quod res habet ; in luctu atque miseriis mortem aerumba-
rum requiem, non cruciatum esse, earn cuncta mortalium
mala dissolvere, ultra neque curae neque gaudio locum
esse. . . . Placet igitur eos dimitti et augeri exercitum Catili-
nae ? Minume ; sed ita censeo, publicandas eorum pecunias,
ipsos in vinculis habendos per municipia, quae maxume
opibus valent ; neu quis de eis postea ad senatum referat
neve cum populo agat.'

479. Abhorring. The 'from' in the construction is evi
dently influenced by the preposition ab in the Latin a&-
horrens ab.

484—485. Cf. Cicero, 4 Cat. 7 : 'Alter intelligit mortem
. . . non esse supplicii constitutam, sed . . . laborum ac
miseriarum quietem.'

498. 'Tis good, etc. Caesar's speech seemed for a time

ACT V]

Notes

209

to win the day for mercy, all the authorities agree, until the
speech of Cato swung the pendulum back.

499-500. Fathers, I see your faces, and your eyes All
bent on me. Cf. 'Video, patres conscripti, in me omnium
vestrum ora atque oculos esse converses' (Cicero, 4 Cat. i).

500—508. Cf . ' Video adhuc duas esse sententias : . . .
uterque et pro sua dignate et pro rerum magnitudine in
summa severitate versatur . . . atque hoc genus poenae saepe
in improbas civis in hac republica esse usurpatum recordatur.
. . . Vincula vero et ea sempiterna certa ad singularem poenam
nefarii sceleris inventa sunt' (Cicero, 4 Cat. 4).

508—516. 'Habetis eum consulem qui et parere vestris
decretis non dubitet, et ea quae statueritis, quoad vivet,
defendere et per se ipsum praestare possit' (Cicero, 4 Cat. 4).
' Quaecumque mihi uni proponetur fortuna, subeatur ' (Cicero,
4 Cat. i). 'Deinde, si quid obtigerit, aequo animo paratoque
moriar. Nom neque turpis mors forti viro postest accidere,
neque immatura consulari, nee misera sapienti' (Cicero,
4 Cat. 2).

516. I spake but as I thought. According to Plutarch,
Cic. 21, Silanus did not apologize merely, but retracted his
sentence of death. Suetonius, lulius 14, states that he
qualified his opinion, trying to make it appear that it had
been more harshly construed than he meant ; for it was not
considered honorable to change outright a decision publicly
rendered.

519—567. The speech of Cato is abridged from the one
in Sallust, Cat. 52. Cf. 'Illi mihi disseruisse videntur de
poena eorum, qui patriae, parentibus, aris atque focis suis
bellum paravere. Res autem monet cavere ab illis magis
quam, quid in illos statuamus, consultare. Nam cetera
maleficia turn persequare, ubi facta sunt ; hoc nisi provideris

ne accidat, ubi evenit, frustra judicia implores Ne illi

sanguinem nostrum largiantur, et dum paucis sceleratis
parcunt, bonos omnes perditum eant. Bene et composite
C. Caesar paulo ante in hoc ordine de vita et morte disseruit,
credo falsa existumans ea, quae de inferis memorantur, divorso
itinere malos a bonis loca taetra, inculta, foeda atque for-

2io Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT V

midolosa habere. Itaque censuit pecunias eorum publi-
candas, ipsos per municipia in custodiis habendos ; videlicet
timens, ne, si Romae sint, aut a popularibus conjurationis
aut a multitudine conducta per vim eripiantur. Quasi vero
mali atque scelesti tantummodo in urbe et non per totam
Italiam sint, aut non ibi plus possit audacia, ubi ad defen-
dendum opes minores sunt. Quare vanum equidem hoc
consilium est, si periculum ex illis metuit ; sin in tan to omnium
metu solus non timet, eo magis refert me mihi atque vobis
timere. . . . Vos cunctamini etiam nunc et dubitatis, quid
intra moenia deprensis hostibus faciatis ? Misereamini
censeo, . . . deliquere homines adulescentuli per ambitionem
. . . atque etiam armatos dimittatis ; ne ista vobis mansuetudo
et misericordia, si illi arma ceperint, in miseriam convortat.
. . . Sed inertia et mollitia animi alius alium exspectantes
cunctamini, videlicet dis immortalibus confisi, qui hanc
rem publicam saepe in maxumis periculis servavere. Non
votis neque suppliciis muliebribus auxilia deorum parantur ;
vigilando, agendo, bene consulendo prospera omnia cedunt.
Ubi socordiae te atque ignaviae tradideris, nequidquam deos
implores. . . . Postremo, patres conscripti, si mehercule peccato
locus esset, facile paterer vos ipsa re corrigi, quoniam verba
contemnitis ; sed undique circumventi sumus. . . . Quo magis
properandum est.' It will be noted that Jonson does not
follow the exact order of the Latin text. The phrase 'ne
illi sanguinem,' for instance, is not taken up till 11. 559—60 ;
and the section beginning 'Sed inertia et mollitia animi
alius alium exspectantes cunctamini/ which is the basis of
11. 542—50, precedes in Jonson the section 'Vos cunctamini,'
which it follows in the Latin. Cf . also Plutarch, Cat. Min. 23.
576. 'Tis a loue-letter. 'The anecdote in the text is
taken from Plutarch. As the fact is indisputable, it must
ever be considered as a curious trait in the manners of the
times. Servilia, the lady whose amorous impatience induced
her to send a billet doux to the senate-house at this important
moment, was the mother of M. Brutus — and, as the scandal
mongers of her days affirmed, by Caesar.'— G. See Plutarch,
Cato Min. 24.

ACT V]

Notes

211

578. Hold thee, drunkard. Take the letter. The Greek
(Plutarch, Cat. Min. 24) reads, 'Take it, sot.' Plutarch
says that Cato threw the letters back at Caesar with these
words. For a similar use of hold, cf. All's Well 4. 5. 46:
'Hold thee, there's my purse.' Thee is the dative. See
Abbott, Shakes. Gram., § 212.

579. You'll repent, etc. 'Caesar was right; Cicero was
prosecuted about four years afterward for putting Lentulus
to death, by Clodius, and escaped condemnation, by going
into voluntary exile. The sentence of death was indeed, as
Jonson states, awarded by the senate ; but this was not dee
med of sufficient validity to contravene a fundamental law
of the republic.' — G.

580. CAESAR shall repent it. 'Ac [Caesar] ne sic quidem
impedire rem destitit, quoad usque manus equitum Ro-
manorum, quae armata praesidii causa circumstabat, immodera-
tius perseveranti necem comminata est : etiam strictos
gladios usque eo intentans, ut sedentem una proximi deserue-
rint, vix pauci complexu togaque objecta protexerint. Tune
plane deterritus, non modo cessit, sed in reliquum anni
tempus curia abstinuit' (Suetonius, Iitlius 14). See also
Plutarch, Ccesar 8. Plutarch says that according to a
current story the young knights would have killed Caesar, had
Cicero given the nod of approval, but this he refused. Plu
tarch, however, considers this story as doubtful, since Cicero
does not mention it in the history of his consulship.

584. Spinther. 'This was a nickname given Lentulus
from a fancied resemblance to a low comedian then on the
stage.'— G.

585-608. Sallust, Cat. 55, thus tells of the end of the
conspirators : ' Postquam . . . senatus in Catonis sententiam
discessit, consul optumum factu ratus noctem quae instabat
antecapere, ne quid eo spatio novaretur, triumviros quae
ad supplicium postulabat, parare iubet. Ipse praesidiis
dispositis Lentulum in carcerem deducit. Idem fit ceteris
per praetores. Est in carcere locus, quod Tullianum appella-
tur, ubi paululum adscenderis ad laevam, circiter XII pedes

humi depressus In eum locum postquam demissus est

O

212 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT V

Lentulus, vindices rerum capitalium,1 quibus praeceptum
erat, laqueo gulam fregere. . . . De Cethego, Statilio, Gabinio,
Caepario, eodem modo supplicium sumptum est.' There is
in this no hint of the individuality in the manner of meeting
death that Jonson brings out.

The account in Plutarch, Cic. 22, differs slightly in detail:
'After this, Cicero went out with the senate to the conspira
tors ; they were not all together in one place, but the several
praetors had them, some one, some another, in custody.
And first he took Lentulus from the Palatine, and brought him
by the Sacred Street, through the middle of the market
place, a circle of the most eminent citizens encompassing
and protecting him. The people, affrighted at what was
doing, passed along in silence, especially the young men. . . .
Thus, passing from the market-place, and coming to the goal,
he delivered Lentulus to the officer, and commanded him to
execute him ; and after him Cethegus, and so all the rest in
order, he brought and delivered up to execution.'

593—594. And let it be Said, he was once. 'The allusion
is historical. In returning from the prison, where the execu
tions took place, Cicero observed a number of suspicious
characters collected in the Forum, on which he exclaimed
aloud, "FUERUNT ! " and thus put an end to their machina
tions.' — G. See Plutarch, Cic. 22.

609. And call it happy Rome, thou being Consul. 'Cato
has not much improved the poetry of his friend's memorable
line, though he has avoided the jingle: "O fortunatam
natam, me consule, Romam.'"— G.

This line, probably from the De Suo Consulatu, but possi
bly from the De Suis Temporibus, is satirically quoted by
Juvenal, Sat. 10. 122.

610. Great parent of thy countrie. See note on 5. 313.
Cf . also Juvenal, Sat. 8. 243—244 : ' Sed Roma parentem,
Roma Patrem Patriae Ciceronem libera dixit.'

610—616. The hint for these words of Cato is found in
Cicero, 3 Cat. n and 4 Cat. n : ' Quibus pro tantis rebus,

1 Cf. reuengers Of capitall crimes 585—586.

ACT V]

Notes

213

Quirites, nullum ego a vobis praemium virtutis . . . praeter
quam hujus diei memoriam sempiternam. In animis ego
vestris omnis triumphos meos, omnia ornamenta honoris,
monumenta gloriae, laudis insignia condi et collocari volo. . . .
Memoria vestra, Quirites, res nostrae alentur, sermonibus
crescent, litterarum monumentis inveterascent et corrobo-
rabuntur' (3 Cat. n) ; 'Pro meis . . . studiis, proque hac . . .
ad conservandam rempublicam diligentia, nihil aliud a vobis,
nisi hujus temporis, totiusque mei consulatus memoriam
postulo : quae dum erit vestris fixa mentibus, tutissimo me
muro saeptum esse arbitrabor ' (4 Cat. n). The details which
Jonson supplies, however, are entirely lacking, and the
author's reliance on any source here is but slight.

623. In such warre, the conquest still is black. The
thought seems to be taken from Lucan, Phars. 7. 122—3 :

Omne malum victi, quod sors feret ultima rerum ;
Omne nefas victoris erit.

624. The house of Concord. This beautiful temple stood
in the Forum, near the foot of the Capitol.

629—688. Sallust, Cat. 59—61, gives a full account of
this battle, in which Catiline was defeated and killed.

630. Two armies. 'Exercitus hostium duo, unus ab
urbe, alter a Gallia, obstant' (Sallust, Cat. 58).

632. To make vs th' object of his desperate choise. ' Cati-
lina, postquam videt . . . copiis hostium esse clausum, statuit
cum Antonio . . . confligere' (Sallust, Cat. 57).

633. Wherein the danger almost paiz'd the honor. Al
most all the later editions have poiz'd, which is not at all the
same word. Paiz'd is from the Old French peser, 'to weigh/
and here means ' counterbalanced.' See Middleton, Family of
Love 2. 4. 231 : ' Whose want of store . . . could not peize
the unequal scale of avarice.'

637. The world her quarrie. Cf. Lucan, Phars. 7. 46:
'Fatisque trahentibus orbem.'

645-646. And all his host had standing in their lookes,
The palenesse of the death, that was to come. Cf. Lucan,
Phars. 7. 129—30 :

02

214 Catiline his Conspiracy [ACT V

Multorum pallor in ore
Mortis venturae est.

651—655. The thought here is very similar to a bit from
Lucan, Phars. i. 100—107 :

Qualiter undas

Qui secat et geminum gracilis mare separat Isthmos
Nee patitur conferre f return, si terra recedat,
Ionium Aegaeo frangat mare : sic, ubi saeva
Arma ducum dirimens miserando funere Crassus
Assyrias Latio maculavit sanguine Carras,
Parthica Romanos solverunt damna furores.

659. They knew not, what a crime their valour was. Cf .

Lucan, Phars. 6. 147 :

Et qui nesciret in armis
Quam magnum virtus crimen civilibus esset.

663. ENYO. A name given to Bellona, the goddess of
war, who drove Mars' chariot. Here the word is war itself,
personified.

668. Couer'd that earth . . . with their trunks. ' Sed

confecto prcelio turn vero cerneres, quanta audacia quantaque
animi vis fuisset in exercitu Catilinae. Nam fere quern quis-
que vivos pugnando locum ceperat, eum amissa anima
corpore tegebat' (Sallust, Cat. 61).

669—689. Sallust gives the following account of Cati
line's death: 'Catilina postquam fusas copias seque cum
paucis relictum videt, memor generis atque pristinae suae
dignitatis in confertissumos hostis incurrit, ibique pugnans
confoditui ' (Cat. 60) ; ' Catilina vero longe a suis inter hostium
cadavera repertus est, paululum etiam spirans, ferociamque
animi, quam habuerat vivus, in voltu retinens' (Cat. 61).
Cf. this last passage especially, with 685 in the text.

672. Like a Lybian Lyon. See Lucan, Phars. i. 206 ff. :

Sicut squalentibus arvis,
Aestiferae Libyes viso leo comminus hoste
Subsedit dubius, totam dum collegit iram ;
. . . Turn torta levis si lancea Mauri
Haereat, aut latum subeant venabula pectus,
Per ferrum tanti securus volneris exit.

ACT V]

Notes

215

697-698. Only the memorie of this glad day. Cf. quota
tions in note on 610—616, supra.
678. MINERVA holding forth MEDVSA'S head. See

Ovid, Met. 4. 12. 769 ff.

The story of Minerva's fight with the giant Enceladus is
told by Claudian, Carm. 53. 91 ff., in a passage which Jonson
here closely imitates. Cf.

Tritonia virgo

Prosiliit ostendens rutila cum Gorgone pectus ;
Ille procul subitis fixus sine vulnere nodis
Ut se letifero sensit durescere visu. . . .
(Et steterat iam paene lapis) — Quo vertimur ? inquit,
Quae serpit per membra silex ? quis torpor inertem
Marmorea me peste ligat ? Vix pauca locutus,
Quod timuit, iam totus erat.

In this connection, cf. also Lucan, Phars. 9. 638—642,
654-658 :

Quern, qui recto se lumine vidit,
Passa Medusa mori est ? rapint dubitantia fata,
Praevenitque metus : anima periere retenta
Membra ; nee emissae riguere sub ossibus umbrae. . . .

Cceloque timente

Olim Phlegraeo, stantis serpente gigantes,
Erexit montes, bellumque immane deorum
Pallados in medio con fecit pec tore Gorgon.

688-691. A braue, bad death, etc. Cf. Florus, Epit. 4. i :
'Pulcherrima morte, si pro patria sic concidisset.'

694—695. All my labours ... and my dangers. 'Multis
meis laboribus et periculis' — a common phrase in Cicero.
See 3 Cat. i ; Pro Mur. 2.

The principall Tragoedians. These were all members of
Shakspere's company. For detailed accounts of their lives
and activities, see Collier, Hist, of Eng. Dram. Poetry 3. 257 ff .

Master of Revells. At first a mere professional organizer
of court-amusements (Stowe, Survey of London, ed. Morley,
p. 122), the master of revels came later to be an absolute
censor and dictator (see Camb. Hist, of Eng. Lit. 6. 276).
Jonson is thought by some to have coveted the office (see
Dekker, Satiromastix, ed. Scherer, p. 47, and note).

I

APPENDIX

A.

COMMENDATORY VERSES AND MEMORANDA IN Q i.

To my friend Mr. Ben lonson,
vpon his Catiline.

F thou hads't itch'd after the wild applause
Of common people, and hads't made thy Lawes
In writing, such, as catch 'd at present voyce,
I should commend the thing, but not thy choyse.
But thou hast squar'd thy rules, by what is good ;
And art, three Ages, yet, from vnderstood :
And (I dare say) in it, there lies much Wit
Lost, till thy Readers can grow up to it,
Which they can nere outgrow, to find it ill,
But must fall backe againe, or like it still.

Franc : Beaumont.

To his worthy friend Mr. Ben lonson.

HE, that dares wrong this Play, it should appeare
Dares vtter more, then other men dare heare,
That have their wits about 'hem : yet such men,
Deare friend, must see your Booke, and reade ; and then,
Out of their learned ignorance, crie ill,
And lay you by, calling for mad Pasquill,
Or Greene's deare Groatsworth, or Tom Cory ate,
The new Lexicon, with the errant Pate ;
And picke away, from all these severall ends,
And durtie ones, to make their as-wife friends
Beleeue they are transslaters. Of this, pitty,
There is a great plague hanging o're the Citty :
Vnlesse she purge her iudgment presently.
But, O thou happy man, that must not die
As these things shall: leaving no more behind
But a thin memory (like a passing wind)
That blowes, and is forgotten, ere they are cold.
Thy labours shall out live thee ; and, like gold

Appendix 217

Stampt for continuance, shall be currant, where
There is a Sunne, a People, or a Yeare.

lohn Fletcher.

To his worthy beloued friend Mr.
BEN ION SON.

HAD the great thoughts of Catiline bene good,
The memory of his name, streame of his bloud,
His plots past into acts, (which would haue turn'd
His infamy to Fame, though Rome had burn'd)
Had not begot him equall grace with men,
As this, that he is writ by such a Pen :
Whose aspirations, if great Rome had had,
Her good things had bene better 'd, and her bad,
Vndone ; the first for ioy, the last for feare,
That such a muse should spread them, to our Yeare.
But woe to vs then : for thy laureat brow
If Rome enioy'd had, we had wanted now.
But, in this Age, where ligs and dances move,
How few there are, that this pure worke approve !
Yet, better then I rayle at, thou canst scorne
Censures, that die, ere they be throughly borne.
Each Subject thou, still thee each Subiect rayses.
And whosoeuer thy Booke, himselfe disprayses.

Nat. Field.

In a copy of this Quarto in the possession of W. Bang, on
the last leaf, occur some interesting memoranda. I here
reproduce the parts concerning Catiline. These same
memoranda are found in a Dulwich College Ms., in the
London, etc., of David Hughson (Edward Pugh), 1805—09.
Although the memoranda are not in Jonson's hand, the
existence of two copies argues for their authenticity. The
script, says Bang, is of the late seventeenth or early eighteenth
century. The ' Ld. T-r ' is undoubtedly Thomas Sackville,
Earl of Dorset and Baron Buckhurst (see D.N.B.). The
parts to the left of the parentheses are Bang's conjectures — the
edge of the sheet having been cut into by the binder.

Me)m. I laid the plot of my Volpone, & wrote most of
it, after a present of 10 dozen of

)sack, from my very good Ld T— r ; that Play I am posi
tive will last to Posterity,

2i 8 Catiline his Conspiracy

)d when I & envy are friends, with applause.
Me)m. The first speech in my Cataline, spoken by
Scylla's Ghost, was writ after I parted from
my) Boys at the Devil-Tavern ; I had drunk well that

night, and had brave notions. There is one
scen)e in that Play which I think is flat ; I resolve to mix

no more water with my wine.

(For the remainder, and discussion, see Mod. Lang. Rev.
i. mff.)

B.

PROLOGUE AND EPILOGUE TO Q 3.

A
PROLOGUE

TO

CATILINE,

To be merrily spoken by Mrs. Nell,
In an Amazonian Habit.

A Woman's prologue ! This is vent'rous News ;
But we, a Poet wanting, Crav'd a muse.
Why should our Brains lye fallow, as if they
Without His fire, were mere Promethean Clay ?
In Natur's Plain- Song we may bear our parts ;
Although we want choise Descant from the Arts.
Amongst Musicians ; so the Philomel
May in Whild-Notes, though not in Rules excell.
And when i' the weaker Vessel Wit doth lye ;
Though into Froth it will work out and flye.
But Gentlemen, you know our formal way,
Although we're sure 'tis false, yet we must say,
Nay Pish, Nay Fye, in troth it is not good,
When we the while, think it not understood :
Hither repair all you that are for Ben :
Let th' House hold full, We're to carry 't then.
Slight not this Femal Summons ; Phoebus-rayes,
To Crown his Poets turn'd our sex to Bayes.
And Ladies sure you'l vote for as entire,
(This plot doth prompt the prologue to conspire)
Such inoffensive Combination Can
But show, who best deserve true worth in Man.
And You, with Your great Author taking Part :
May chance be thought, like him to know the Art,

Appendix

Vouchsafe then, as you look, to speak us fair,
Let the Gallants dislike it, if they dare :
They will so forfeit the repute of Judges,
You may turn Am'zons, and make them Drudges,
Man's claim to Rule is, in his Reason bred ;
This masculine Sex of Brain may make you Head.
'Tis real Skill, in the Right place to praise ;
But more, to have the Wit, not to write Playes.

The 'M«. Nell' referred to was Nell Gwynn.
At the end of the volume occurs this :

The Epilogue.
By the same.

No Dance, no song, no Farce ? His lofty Pen,
How e're we like it, doubtless wrote to Men.
Height may be his, as it was Babel's fall ;
There Bricklayers turn'd to Linguists ruin'd all.
I'de ne're spoke this, had I not heard by many,
He lik't one silent woman, above any:
And against us had such strange prejudice ;
For our applause, he scorned to write amiss,

For all this, he did us, like wonders, prize ;
Not for our Sex, but when he found us Wise.
A Poet runs the Gantlet, and his slips,
Are bare expos 'd to regiments of Whips;
Among those, he to Poetick Champions Writ ;
As We to gain the Infancy of Wit.
Which if they prove the greatest Number, then
The House hath cause to thank Nell, more than Ben.
Our Author might prefer your praise, perhaps,
Wee'd rather have your Money, than your Claps.

C.

JONSON'S USE OF CICERO'S First Oration against Catiline.

Only a small amount of the Latin text is here reproduced,
as the aim is merely to show Jonson's omissions — these
are bracketed. Three dots are to be taken to mean that
up to the point of their occurrence Jonson has used the
Latin text in toto.

. . . O tempora ! o mores ! senatus haec intelligit, consul
videt : hie tamen vivit. Vivit ? imno vero etiam in sena-

22O Catiline his Conspiracy

turn venit, fit publici consilii particeps, notat et designat
oculis ad caedem unum quemque nostrum : nos autem,
viri fortes, satis facere rei publicae videmur, si istius furor-
em ac tela vitemus. (Ad mortem te, Catilina, duci iussu
consulis iam pridem oportebat, in te conferri pestem
istam, quam tu in nos iam diu machinaris. An vero vir
amplissimus, P. Scipio, pontifex maximus, Ti. Gracchum
mediocriter labefactantem statum rei publicae privatus
interfecit : Catilinam orbem terrae caede atque incendiis
vastare cupientem nos consules perferemus ? Nam ilia
nimis antiqua praetereo, quodque Servilius Ahala Spurium
Maelium no vis rebus studentem manu sua occidit.) . . .
(Decrevit quondam senatus, ut L. Opimius consul videret,
ne quid res publica detrimenti caperet : nox nulla intercessit, —
interfectus est propter quasdam seditionum suspitiones
C. Gracchus, clarissimo patre, avo, maioribus, occisus est
cum liberis M. Fulvius consularis. Simili senatus consulto
C. Mario et L. Valerio consulibus est permissa res publica :
num unum diem postea L. Saturninum tribunum plebis et
C. Servilium prsetorem mors ac rei publicae poena remorata
est ?) At vero nos vicesimum iam diem patimur hebescere
aciem horum auctoritatis. (Habemus enim huiusce modi
senatus consultum, verum) inclusum (in tabulis, tamquam)
in vagina (reconditum), quo ex senatus consulto confestim
interfectum te esse, Catilina, convenit.

. . . Muta iam istam mentem, mihi crede, obliviscere
caedis atque incendiorum : (teneris undique ; luce sunt
clariora nobis tua consilia omnia, quae etiam mecum licet
recognoscas.)

. . . Magno me metu liberabis, dum modo inter me atque
te mums intersit. (Nobiscum versari iam diutius non
potes : non feram, non patiar, non sin am. Magna dis immor-
talibus habenda est atque huic ipsi lovi Statori, antiquissimo
custodi hums urbis, gratia, quod hanc tarn taetram, tarn
horribilem tamque infestam rei publicae pestem totiens iam
effugimus : non est saepius in uno homine summa salus per-
iclitanda rei publicae. Quam diu mihi consuli designate,
Catilina, insidiatus es, non publico me praesidio, sed privata

Appendix

221

diligentia defend! ; cum proximis comitiis consularibus me
consulem in campo et competitores tuos interficere voluisti,
compress! conatus tuos nefarios amicorum praesidio et copiis,
nullo tumultu publice concitato ; denique, quotienscumque
me petisti, per me tibi obstiti, quamquam videbam perniciem
meam cum magna calamitate rei publicae esse coniunctam
Nunc iam aperte rem publicam universam petis ; templa
deorum immortalium, tecta urbis, vitam omnium civium,
Italiam denique totam ad exitium ac vastitatem vocas. Qua
re quoniam id, quod est primum et quod huius imperil
disciplinaeque maiorum proprium est, facere nondum audeo,
faciam id, quod est ad severitatem lenius et ad communem
salutem utilius. Nam si te interfici iussero, residebit in re
publica reliqua coniuratorum manus ; sin tu, quod te iam
dudum hortor, exieris, exhaurietur ex urbe tuorum comitum
magna et perniciosa sentina rei publicae.)

. . . (Nihil agis, nihil adsequeris, neque tamen conari ac
velle desistis.) Quotiens tibi iam extorta est sica ista de
manibus ! quotiens vero excidit casu aliquo et elapsa est !
tamen ea carere diutius non potes. Quae quidem quibus
abs te initiata sacris ac devota sit, nescio, quod earn necesse
putas esse in consulis corpore defigere. (Nunc vero quae tua
est ista vita ?) ... Servi mehercule mei si me is to pacto
metuerent, ut te metuunt omnes cives tui, domum meam
relinquendam putarem : (tu tibi urbem non arbitraris ? et, si
me meis civibus iniuria suspectum tarn graviter atque offen-
sum viderem, carere me aspectu civium, quam infestis ocu-
lis omnium conspici mallem : tu, cum conscientia scelerum
tuorum agnoscas odium omnium iustum et iam diu tibi
debitum, dubitas, quorum mentes sensusque vulneras, eonim
aspectum praesentiamque vitare ? Si te parentes timerent
atque odissent tui neque eos ulla ratione placare posses, ut
opinor, ab eorum oculis aliquo concederes ; nunc te patria,
quae communis est parens omnium nostrum, odit ac metuit et
iam diu nihil te iudicat nisi de parricidio suo cogitare : huius
tu neque auctoritatem verebere nee iudicium sequere nee
vim pertimesces ? Quae tecum, Catilina, sic agit et quodam
modo tacita loquitur: "Nullum iam aliquot ami is facinus

222

Catiline his Conspiracy

exstitit nisi per te, nullum flagitium sine te ; tibi uni multo-
rum civium neces, tibi vexatio direptioque sociorum impunita
f uit ac libera ; tu non solum ad negligendas leges et quaestio-
nes, verum etiam ad evertendas perfringendasque valuisti.
Superiora ilia, quamquam ferenda non fuerunt, tamen, ut
potui, tuli : nunc vero me totam esse in metu propter unum te,
quidquid increpuerit, Catilinam timeri, nullum videri contra
me consilium iniri posse quod a tuo scelere abhorreat, non est
ferendum. Quam ob rem discede atque hunc mini timorem
eripe, si est verus, ne opprimar, sin falsus, ut tandem ali-
quando timere disinam." Haec si tecum, ut dixi, patria
loquatur, nonne impetrare debeat, etiam si vim adhibere
non possit ? Quid, quod tu te ipse in custodiam dedisti ?
quod vitandse suspitionis causa ad M'. Lepidum te habitare
velle dixisti ? a quo non receptus etiam ad me venire ausus
es atque, ut domi meae te adservarem, rogasti. Cum a me
quoque id responsum tulisses, me nullo modo posse iisdem
parietibus tuto esse tecum, qui magno in periculo essem, quod
iisdem moenibus contineremur, ad Q. Metellum praetorem
venisti ; a quo repudiatus ad sodalem tuum, virum optimum,
M. Metellum demigrasti : quern tu videlicet et ad custodi-
endum te diligentissimum et ad suspicandum sagacissimum
et ad vindicandum fortissimum fore putasti. Sed quam
longe videtur a carcere atque a vinculis abesse debere, qui
se ipse iam dignum custodia iudicarit ?)

. . . (Refer, inquis, ad senatum ; id enim postulas et, si
hie ordo sibi placere decreverit te ire in exilium, obtempera-
turum te esse dicis. Non referam, id quod abhorret a meis
moribus, et tamen faciam ut intelligas, quid hi de te sentiant.
Egredere ex urbe, Catilina,) libera rem publicam metu, in
hanc vocem exspectas, proficiscere.

. . . (At si hoc idem huic adolescenti optimo P. Sestio, si
fortissimo viro M. Marcello dixissem, iam mihi consuli hoc
ipso in templo iure optimo senatus vim et manus intulisset.)
De te autem, Catilina, cum quiescunt, probant ; cum patiun-
tur, decernut ; cum tacent, clamant : (neque hi solum, quorum
tibi auctoritas est videlicet cara, vita vilissima, sed etiam illi
equites Romani, honestissimi atque optimi viri, ceterique

Appendix

223

fortissimi cives, qui slant circum senatum, quorum tu et
frequentiam videre et studia perspicere et voces paullo ante
exaudire potuisti. Quorum ego vix abs te iam diu manus ac
tela contineo, eosdem facile adducam, ut te haec, quae iam
pridem vastare studes, relinquentem usque ad portas prose-
quantur.

Quamquam quid loquor ? Te ut ulla res frangat ? tu ut
umquam te corrigas ? tu ut ullam fugam meditere ? tu ut
exsilium cogites ? Utinam tibi istam mentem di immortales
duint ! etsi video, si mea voce perterritus ire in exsilium
animum induxeris, quanta tempestas invidiae nobis, si
minus in praesens tempus recenti memoria scelerum tuorum,
at in posteritatem impendeat. Sed est tanti, dum modo ista
sit privata calamitas et a rei publicae periculis seiungatur.
Sed tu ut vitiis tuis commoveare, ut legum poenas pertimescas,
ut temporibus rei publicae cedas, non est postulandum.)
. . . Quam ob rem, ut saepe iam dixi, proficiscere (ac, si mihi,
inimico ut praedicas tuo, conflare vis invidiam, recta via
perge in exsilium : vix feram sermones hominum, si id feceris ;
vis molem istius invidiae, si in exsilium iussu consulis ieris,
sustinebo. Sin autem servire meae laudi et gloriae mavis,
egredere cum importuna sceleratorum manu, confer te ad
Manilum, concita perditos cives, secerne te a bonis, infer
patriae bellum, exsulta impio latrocinio, ut a me non eiectus
ad alienos, sed invitatus ad tuos esse videaris.) . . . (Tu ut
ilia carere diutius possis, quam venerari ad caedem profici-
scens solebas, a cuius altaribus saepe istam impiam dexteram
ad necem civium transtulisti ? Ibis tandem aliquando, quo
te iam pridem ista tua cupiditas effrenata ac furiosa rapiebat ;
neque enim tibi haec res adfert dolorem, sed quamdam incredi-
bilem voluptatem. Ad hanc te amentiam natura peperit,
voluntas exercuit, fortuna servavit. Numquam tu non modo
otium, sed ne bellum quidem nisi nefarium concupisti.
Nanctus es ex perditis atque ab omni non modo fortuna,
verum etiam spe derelictis conflatam improborum manum.
Hie tu qua laetitia perfruere ! quibus gaudiis exsultabis !
quanta in voluptate bacchabere, cum in tanto numero
tuorum neque audies virum bonum quemquam neque videbis !

224 Catiline his Conspiracy

Ad huius vitae studium meditati illi sunt qui feruntur labores
tui, iacere humi non solum ad obsidendum stuprum, verum
etiam ad facinus obeundum, vigilare non solum insidiantem
somno maritorum, verum etiam bonis otiosorum. Habes,
ubi ostentes illam tuam praeclaram patientiam famis, frigoris,
inopiae rerum omnium, quibus te brevi tempore confectum
esse sen ties. Tan turn profeci turn, cum te a consulatu
reppuli, ut exsul potius temptare quam consul vexare rem
publicam posses, atque ut id, quod est abs te scelerate suscep-
tum, latrocinium potius quam bellum nominaretur.

Nunc, ut a me, patres conscripti, quamdam prope iustam
patriae querimoniam detester ac deprecer, percipite, quaeso,
diligenter quae dicam, et ea penitus animis vestris mentibus-
que mandate.) . . . (Quid tandem te impedit ? Mosne maio-
rum ? At persaepe etiam privati in hac re publica perniciosos
cives morte multaverunt. An leges, quae de civium Romano-
rum supplicio rogatae sunt ? At numquam in hac urbe ii, qui a
re publica defecerunt, civium iura tenuerunt. An invidiam
posteritatis times ? Praeclaram vero populo Romano referes
gratiam, qui te, hominem per te cognitum, nulla commenda-
tione maiorum, tarn mature ad summum imperium per
ornnes honorum gradus extulit, si propter invidiae aut
alicuius periculi me turn salutem civium tuorum negligis.
Sed si quis est invidiae metus, non est vehementius severita-
tis ac fortitudinis invidia quam inertiae ac nequitise perti-
mescenda. An cum bello vastabitur Italia, vexabuntur
urbes, tecta ardebunt, turn te non existimas invidiae incendio
conflagraturum ?) ... (Etenim si summi viri et clarissimi
cives Saturnini et Gracchorum et Flacci et superiorum
complurium sanguine non modo se non contaminarunt, sed
etiam honestarunt, certe verendum mihi non erat, ne quid
hoc parricida civium interfecto invidiae mihi in posteritatem
redundaret. Quod si ea mihi maxime impenderet, tamen hoc
animo semper fui, ut invidiam virtute partam gloriam, non
invidiam putarem.) Quamquam non nulli sunt in hoc
ordine, (qui aut ea quae imminent non videant, aut ea quae
vident dissimulent ;) qui spem Catilinae mollibus sententiis
aluerunt coniurationemque nascentem non credendo corro-

Appendix

225

boraverunt : quorum auctoritatem secuti multi, non solum
improbi, verum etiam imperiti, (si in hunc animadvertissem,
crudeliter et regie factum esse dicerent.) . . . (Hoc autem
uno interfecto intelligo hanc rei publicae pestem paulisper
reprimi, non in perpetuum comprimi posse.) . . . (Etenim
iam diu, patres conscripti, in his periculis coniurationis
insidiisque versamur, sed nescio quo pacto omnium scelerum
ac veteris furoris et audaciae maturitas in nostri consulatus
tempus erupit.) . . . Ut saepe homines aegri morbo gravi,
cum aestu febrique iactantur, si aquam gelidam biberint,
primo relevari videntur, deinde multo gravius vehementius-
que adflictantur, (sic hie morbus, qui est in re publica, relevatus
istius poena, vehementius vivis reliquis ingravescet.) Qua
re secedant improbi, etc.

GLOSSARY

Reference to the text is by act and line. Obsolete words or de
finitions are marked "f", archaic |, technical or unnaturalized words, *.

A, prep. (A worn-down proclitic
form of O. E. preposition, an,
on.} Indicating time : in, on,
by. (Here prefixed to O. E.
adverbial genitive nihtes) 2. 18,
2. 65. Cf. Abbott, §§ 24, 140.

Abhorring, adj. -[-Abhorrent, re
pulsive, repugnant. Construed
with from, which is occasionally
omitted. 5. 479.

f Afore, adv. (Adv. of time, from
O. E. on -f- foran = on foran,
'in front, in advance'). Be
fore, i. 339.

fAile, v. To have something
the matter with one. i. 505.

Article, n. A moment. 5. 444.

Artificer, n. "fAn artful or wily
person; a trickster. 4. 191.

Aspire, v. fTo attain. 3. 516.

•f Ayreling, n. A young, thought
less person, i. 167.

[Bane, n. (Common Teutonic
word, OE. bana = O. Fris.
bona, OHG. bano, Dan. bane,
&c., 'death, murder.') Here
used in a strong sense, probab
ly = deadly poison. 3. 215.

Batch, n. (M. E. bache, bacche.)
Properly, a baking; the quan
tity of bread produced at one
baking. Figuratively here, the
sort or 'lot' to which a thing
belongs by origin (as loaves
do to their own batch) . 4.222.

Bate, v. To fall off in force or
intensity. 3. 55.

fBattaile, n. Line of battle.
5- 672.

Bawde, n. A pander. 2. 275,
passim.

Beare, v. -fTo have ill will to,
have a resentment against
(with 'hard,' 'heavy/ or 'hea
vily'). 4. 764.

Begirt, v. To surround. 3. 642.

Bosome, adj. Cherished in the
bosom. 3. 727.

•j-Bourd, v. (O. F. bourder =
jest, make game of.) To jest
with, make game of, mock.

1. 512.

Breake, v. •fReveal, divulge
(implying caution). With here
has the sense of to. 3. 533.

Broker, n. fA pimp or pander.

2. 275.

Brooke, v. Endure, put up with.

3. 109, 4. 893, and in 3. 138 :
' Brooke it deadly. ' For 3.138,
'she brookes not me,' see
Notes.

Carriage, n. Deportment, behav
ior. 4. 737.

Carry, v. To win (a contest).
3. 101. To support, give vali
dity to. 5. 96.

Challenge, v. To lay claim to,
as a right. 3. 366.

Chiefe, n. Foremost authority,
leader, ruler. 4. 676.

Clowne, n. A peasant, i. 522.

Coate, n. Coat of arms. 2. 120.

Cob-swan, n. A male swan. 2. 1 80.

Commodity, n. -f Advantage, pro
fit. 3. 605.

Community, n. Social inter
course, communion, i. 177.
See Notes.

Complexion, n. "[Constitution or
habit of mind, disposition. 3.
322.

Glossary

227

Complice, n. Accomplice. 5. 257.
Conjure, v. To beseech, implore.

3 677.
Conniuence, n. Tacit sanction, i.

i?3-

fCounsaile, «. Advice. 3. 406.
Scheme, plan. 4. 183, 377; 5.
433. 538.

Conscience, n. flnward knowl
edge, consciousness, i. 29, 4.
298.

Counsel!, n. -[Opinion. 3. 34 ; 4.
280. Advice. 4. 313 ; 5, 305, 547.

Contemn, v. To despise or scorn.
5. 108.

Conuent, n. fAn assembly, mee
ting. 4. 295.

Corne, n. Grain. 5. 388.

fCouetise, n. Covetousness. 2.

33i-

Court, v. To pay courteous at
tention to ; to try to win
favor with. i. in.

Courtship, n. Wooing. 2. 53.

Coy, v. Phr. to coy it : to affect
shyness, to behave coyly, i.
508, 2. 225.

Crude, adj. [immature. Ded. 6.

Crudity, n. fSee Notes. 2. 149.

Desart, n. Worthiness of re
compense; merit or demerit.
2. 382.

Differ, v, f Defer, i. 425.

Discourse, n. ^Conversation. 3.
282.

Disposition, n. Health; bodily
well-being. 2. 214.

Doome, n. ^Personal or private
judgment, opinion. 4. 864.

Dormice, n. Small rodents of a
family intermediate between
squirrels and mice ; in a trans
ferred sense (Fr. dormir, 'to
sleep'), dozing or sleepy per
sons, i. 211.

Drift, M. | Scheme, plot, design.
3- 243.

Dull, adj. Gloomy, i. 298.

Enforce, v. fTo drive away by
force, i. 574.

Engine, n. Machine, implement,
tool. i. 144.

Engtner, n. One who contrives,
designs, or invents ; an author,
designer (often with sense of
plotter, layer of snares). 5.
210.

Engross, v. To occupy entirely,
absorb, i. 347.

Entrailes, n. The inner parts of
anything ; internal contents.
2. 307.

Enuy, n. fill-will, malice, en
mity, i. 147; 4. 554; 4. 718;

4. 819; 5. 120.

Errant, adj. Used as an inten
sive with substantives of re
proachful sense : thoroughgoing,
unmitigated. 2.18. It is usu
ally spelled arrant.

Even, adj. Unruffled. 5. 512.

Expect, v. I A wait (Lat. cxpec-
to). 5. 381.

Expresse, v. fTo extort or elicit
by pressure. 3. 209.

Eye, n. A minute portion. See
Notes. 5. 444.

Face, «. Impence, effrontery,
'cheek/ 2. 377.

Fact, n. fDeed. i. 490; 3. 82;
4. 321. fCrime. i. 41 ; 3. 835 ;
4- 329; 5- 174; 5- 522.

Fain, v. fTo picture to oneself,
imagine (what is unreal). (Ob
solete spalling of feign.) i.

154-

Faine, adj. Glad under the cir
cumstances ; glad or content
to take a certain course in
default of opportunity for
anything better, or as the lesser
of two evils. 2. 66.

jFarder, adv. Farther. 2. 142.

jFardest, adv. Farthest. 1.140.

*Farre-triumphed, adj. See No
tes. 3. 280.

IjFell, adj. Fierce, cruel, ruthless,
i. 492.

Fencer, n. f A hired or profes
sional swordsman ; a gladiator.
4. 401.

228

Catiline his Conspiracy

Few, adj. Phr. in few : in few
words. 3. 491.

Flout, v. Mock, jeer. 2. 31.

Fondly, adv. Foolishly. 4. 409.

Forbeare, v. fTo have patience
with one. 4. 39.

Force, v. ^To attach force or
importance to. i. 316. To
overpower by force. 4. 485.

Fore-thinke, v. To consider or
think of beforehand, i. 342.

Foole, n. •j'A term used in en
dearment and tenderness (with
a touch of pity). 2. 88.

Fume, v. fTo emit as vapor. 3.

587-
Foule, v. To catch, hunt, shoot,

or snare wildfowl, i. 570.
Frequent, adj. ^Assembled in

great numbers, full. 4. 63.

Gallant, n. fOf a woman : a

fashionably attired beauty. 2.

70.
Gamester, n. fA merry person,

esp. one addicted to amorous

sport. 2. 184. A gambler. 5.

41.
Genius, n. f Natural aptitude,

coupled with more or less of

inclination to, for (something).

4. 596. For 4. 565, see Notes.
Girt, v. I To encircle, besiege,

blockade. 4. 432.
Goe, v. Phr. goe on : to make an

attack, i. 143.
Gorget, n. A piece of armor for

the throat. 4. 92.
Gratulate, v. Congratulate. 3.

117.
|Gyrlond, n. Garland, i. 434.

Habites, n. Customs, i. 131.

f Garments. 4. 35.
Head, ». Commander, head man,

leader. 4. 488.

Headie, adj. Headstrong. 3. 729.
Heaue, v. ^To move ; to rouse

the feelings of, agitate, i. 134.
t'Hem, pron. pi. Them. 1.127,

i. 152, passim. Cf. C. D. under

He. Common in early modern

Eng., in which it came to be
regarded as contr. of the equiv.
them, and was therefore in the
1 7th cent, often printed 'hem,
'em. (OE. him, heom; M. E.
Hem, ham, heom, &c.)

Hold, v. fin the imperative,
used in offering or presenting :
' Here, take it.' 5. 578. Reflex
ive : to restiain oneself, forbear.
5- 58i.

Honest, adj. fChaste. 2. 51.

Honesty, n jChastity. 2. 52.

Humor, n. fMood, temper. 2.
80. (Here, almost = taste.)

Hundred, adj. j-Hundredth. 5.
153-

I, interj. f Affirmative : aye, yes.

1. 76; i. 379; i. 429; 2. 100;
350, etc.

Ingrate, adj- i Ungrateful. 3. 297.

Inuade, v. |To infringe, encroach

on (property, liberties, &c.).

2. 374-

Inhabitable, adj. f Uninhabitable.

5- 54-

Insolent, adj. ^Unaccustomed,
unusual. 3. 259.

Keepe,t>. f Dwell. 1.554.
fKemb, v. To comb. i. 561.
Einde, n. Nature, i. 563.

Lane, v. jTo draw (water) out

or up; to bale. i. 77.
Leave, v. tTo cease, i. 495;

3. 816.

Let, v. |! Hinder. 3. 829.
Libell, v. (I Statement of charges.

See note on 5. 351.
Like, v. jTo be pleasing, i.

393-

Loose, v. j-To lose. i. 92. To
relax. 3. 607.

Maine, n. Sea. i. 126.
Maine, adj. jVery great. 4.210.
Make, v. Phr. to make on :

to hasten on. 3. 190.
•[•Manage, n. jManagement. 4.

796.

Glossary

229

Mew, v. To make the sound

uttered by a cat. 4. 540.
•fMoe, adj. More. 3. 53.
Moment, n. *Moving power. 4.

748.
Muit, v. Of a bird, to void the

faeces. 3. 161.
Mulct, v. To punish by a fine.

5- 496.
Muse, v. fTo wonder, marvel.

1. 217.

Myriade, adv. fA thousand-fold.

2. 168.

Nephew, n. jA grandson. 3. 627 ;

2. 366; 5. 614.
fNill, v. To be unwilling, i.

335-

Note, n. *Brand (Lat. notd).
4- 3i6.

0, interj. Here expressing sor
row = 'alas !' 3. 873.

Obnoxious, adj. *Phr. obnoxious
to: subject to. i. 542.

Office, n. Kindness, service. 3.

474-
Ominous, adj. Of the nature of an

omen, portentous. 3. 566.
]0pe, adj. Open. 3. 21.
Orient, adj. Brilliant, lustrous.

2. 105.

Outcry, n. t An auction. 2.316.

fPaize. v. To be of equal weight

with, counterbalance. 5. 633.

Phant'sie, n. Imagination, i.

3i5-

Phlegme, n. "^Anciently regar
ded as one of the four bodily
'humours,' described as cold
and moist, and supposed, when
predominant to cause constitu
tional indolence or apathy. 3.
740.

fPioner, n. Pioneer. 3. 726.
Plaine, v. To bewail, mourn,
lament. 4. 14.

Portentous, cdj. Marvelous, mon
strous. 4. 500.

Practice, n. -(-Treachery ; tricke
ry, artifice. 3. 242, 3. 829.

Preuent, v. fTo meet before
hand or anticipate (an objec
tion, desire, etc.). 4. 682.

Prey, n. ||Booty. i. 247.

Priuate, n. fA private or per
sonal matter, business or inter
est. 3. 481.

Prodigie, n. fMonster. 4. 484.

Proue, v. j'To approve. 4. 533.
jTo attempt. 5. 431.

Prouide, v. To make provision
against in advance. 5. 524.

Put vp, v. To sheath (a sword,
dagger, etc.). 2. 287.

Quarter, n. jRelations with, or
conduct towards, another ; esp.
in phr. to keep (or hold) good
(or fair) quarter with. 3. 667.

Rate, n. j- Valuation, rating, i.
568.

Reed, n. jSee note on 4. 252.

Religious, adj. * Superstitious.
See note on 3. 518.

jResiant, adj. Resident; abid
ing. 4. 577.

Resolue, v. To render lax in
feeling or conduct. 3. 609.

Rid, v. To get rid of. 3. 535.

Rise, v. fPast part, of ' rise ' -
risen. 3. 272.

Riss', v. jPast tense of 'rise ' =
rose. 4. 358.

Sacrament, n. An oath or solemn
engagement, especially one
which is ratified by a ceremony.

1. 423.

Sanction, n. jA solemn oath or

engagement, i. 486.
Savour, v. To have some of the

characteristics of. 2. 269.
'Scape, v. to escape. 4. 805.
Sciruely, adv. Meanly, sorrily.

2. 228.

Sense, n. Discernment. 4. Six.

Shelue, n. Ledge. 3. 70.

Sinke, n. -f A collective mass of
unsavory or objectionable per
sons or matters. 3. 266; 4.
305-

P2

230

Catiline his Conspiracy

Sit, v. Phr. to sit upon: to sit
in judgment on. 2. 140.

Sleek, v. To make (skin, hair,
&c.) smooth and glossy, i.
562.

* Smock-treason, n. Marital in
fidelity. 4. 725.

Speake, v. To declare, show.
5- 90.

Spight, interj. Expression of
vexation. 2. 215. (Here =
' A plague on! ')

Spring, n. An opening in a
seam ; a leak. 3. 69.

Stale, n. jA decoy. 3. 723.

Starke, adj. Stiff. 1.302. Down
right, complete, i. 436.

Start, v. To escape. 4. 813.

State, n. f Estate. 5. 491.

Stomack, v. jTo resent. 3.137.

Sireight, adv. -f Straightway. 3.
466.

Streight, n. -[Difficulty. 5. 629.

Subtle, adj. Dainty, delicate. 2.
346.

Sure, adv. | Steadily, calmly. 3.
no.

Surfet,w. Excess, i. 52.

Swell, v. To increase the size of ;
to fill. i. 499.

fTane, v. Past part, of 'take.'

3- 785.

Tempt, v. -fTo attempt, i. 48.
Then, conj. -fThan. i. 4; i. 212;

2. 51, etc.

Tire, v. -j-To prey upon ; devour.

3. 200.

Tract, n. ^Course or movement.

5- 349-
Traine, n. |Plot, stratagem. 4.

800.
fTrauaile, v. To travel. 5. 134.

(Elsewhere, travail.)

Troth, n. fTruth. 2. 94.
•jTyran, n. Tyrant. 2. 295.

Vnder-taker, n. |On who engages
to perform any business. 3.
18. (See Notes.)

f Vnfear*d, adj. Unafraid. 4.32.

Vn-mannerM, adj. Rude, man
nerless. 2. 270.

Vn-reuerendly, adv. jlrreverent-
ly. 3. 445.

fVnseel, v. To open, as the eyes
of a hawk which have been
'seeled.' i. 297.

Vaine, n. fVein (manner of
speech or action ; particular
style). 3. 28.

fValure, n. Valor, i. 432.

Vantage, n. -fTo profit, aid. 3.
379-

fVarlet, n. Rascal, rogue. 5.

340-

Vent, v. Reflexively, to relieve
oneself. 2. 274. To give ut
terance to. 2. 291.

Vindicate, v. fTo avenge, pu
nish. 4. 652.

Voice, n. Utterance, i. 229;
1.429. Vote. i. 516; i. 581;

2. 98; 3- 372.

Wake, v. ||To watch. 3. 90,

3. 446.

Wayter, n fA waiting-woman.
2. 262.

Whelm, v. To submerge. 5. 35.

Where, conj. Whereas. 4. 417.

Whole, adv. |Wholly, comple
tely. 2. 607.

tWindOre, n. Window. 3. 347.

*Wit-worme, n. A term of con
tempt for a wit. See note on
2. 30.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ABBOTT, E. A. A Shakespearian Grammar. London 1891.

APPIAN. History of Rome. Ed. L. Mendelssohn. Leipzig,
1878.

ARBER, E. (Ed.) A Transcript of the Registers of the Com
pany of Stationers of London. London, 1875—94.

ASCONIUS PEDIANUS. Commentaries on Cicero. Ed. Kiessing-
Schoell. Berlin, 1875.

BAILEY, C. The Religion of Ancient Rome. London, 1907.

BAILEY, N. Etymological English Dictionary. London,
1721.

BARTLETT, J. A Concordance to Shakespeare. London,
1843-6.

BEAUMONT and FLETCHER. Works. Ed. A. Dyce. London,
1843-6.

BECKER, W. A. Callus. Leipzig, -1863.

BOUCHE-LECLERQ, A. Histoire de la Divination dans 1'An-
tiquite. Paris, 1882.

BOYESEN, N. H. Goethe and Schiller. New York, 1908.

BRIGGS, W. D. Influence of Jonson's Tragedy in the Seven
teenth Century (in Anglia 35. 277 ff.).

BROOKE, C. F. T. The Tudor Drama. Boston, 1911.

BULAND, M. The Presentation of Time in the Elizabethan
Drama. New York, 1912.

CAESAR. Gallic Wars. Ed. J. H. and W. H. Allen. Boston,
1890.

Cambridge History of English Literature : vols. 5 and 6.
Cambridge and New York, 1910.

CASTELAIN, M. Ben Jonson. Paris, 1907.

C.D. Century Dictionary.

CICERO, M. T. Catilinarians. Ed. F. Richter. Leipzig, 1869.

Works. Delphin Classics.

- Poetic Remains. Ed. E. Baehrens. Leipzig, 1886
(in Fragmenta Poetarum Romanorum).

232 Catiline his Conspiracy

CICERO, Q. Literary Remains. Ed. F. Buecheler. Leipzig,

1869.

CLAUDIAN. Odes. Ed. T. Birt. Berlin, 1892.
COLERIDGE, S. T. Works. 7 vols. New York, 1868.
COLLIER, J. History of English Dramatic Poetry to the

Time of Shakespeare : and Annals of the Stage to the

Restoration. 3 vols. London, 1879.
COOK, A. S. Notes on Milton's Ode on the Morning of Christ's

Nativity (in Transactions of the Connecticut Academy

of Arts and Sciences, vol. 15).

Cox, K. Meissonier (in the Nation, N. Y., Dec. 24, 1896).
CR£BILLON, P. J. Works. Paris, 1812.
CROLY, G. Catiline, a Tragedie. London, 1822.
DAREMBERG, C., and SAGLIO, E. (Eds.) Dictionnaire des

Antiquites. Paris, 1877—1904.
DEKKER, T. Dramatic Works. 4 vols. London, 1873.

- Non-dramatic Works. 5 vols. Ed. Grosart. Lon
don, 1885.

- Satiromastix. Ed. H. Scherer. Louvain, 1907.
Dio CASSIUS. History of Rome. Ed. J. Melber. Leipzig,

1890.

- History of Rome. Tr. H. B. Foster. Troy, 1905.
DIONYSIUS HALICARNASSENSIS. Ed. J. Hudson. Oxford, 1704.
D.N.B. Dictionary of National Biography.

DODSLEY, R. A Select Collection of Old English Plays,

1774. Ed. W. C. Hazlitt. 15 vols. London, 1874-6.
DOWNES, J. Roscius Anglicanus. London, 1708 : facsimile

repr., ed. J. Knight, London, 1886.
DRYDEN, J. Works. Ed. Scott-Sain tsbury. Edinburgh,

1882.

DUMAS-MAQUET. Catilina. Paris, 1848.
ELSON, L. C. History of American Music. New York, 1904.
ENDT, J. Adnotationes super Lucanum. Leipzig, 1909.
EURIPIDES. Works. Ed. G. Dindorf. London, 1832.

- Works. Tr. A. S. Way. London, 1912.
FENNELL, C. A. The Stanford Dictionary of Anglicized

Words and Phrases. Cambridge, 1892.

Bibliography

233

FERRERO, G. The Greatness and Decline of Rome. Amer.

ed., New York, 1907.
FISHER, L. Shakespeare and the Capitol (in Mod. Lang.

Notes 27. 177 ff.).
FLEAY, F. G. A Chronicle History of the London Stage,

I559~I642. London, 1890.

- Biographical Chronicle of the English Drama,

1559-1642. 2 vols. London, 1891.
FLORUS. Epitome. Delphin Classics.

FURNESS, H. H. New Variorum Shakespeare. Philadelphia.
GENEST, I. Some Account of the English Stage. 10 vols.

Bath, 1832.
GIFFORD, W. (Tr.) Satires of Juvenal, Persius, Sulpicia,

and Lucilius. New York, 1883.
GORDON, T. The Conspirators, or the Case of Catiline.

London, 1721.

GREENIDGE, A. H. Roman Public Life. London, 1901.
HALLIWELL, J. D. A Dictionary of Old English Plays,

London, 1866.
A Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words.

London, 1847.
HARRISON, W. Elizabethan England. London (Camelot

Series) .

HAZLITT, W. Works. London, 1902.
HESIOD. Works. Ed. A. Fick. Gottingen, 1887.
HORACE. Works. Ed. King-Munro. London, 1869.
HYGINUS. Fables. Ed. M. Schmidt. Jena, 1872.
JONSON, B. See Introduction, pp. vii ff.

— Bartholomew Fair. Ed. C. S. Alden. New York,

1904.

1912.

Cynthia's Revels. Ed. A. C. Judson. New York,

- Epicoene. Ed. A. Henry. New York, 1906.

- Every Man in his Humour. Ed. H. B. Wheatley.
London, 1891.

- Masques and Entertainments. Ed. H. Morley.
London, 1890.

- Sejanus. Ed. W. D. Briggs. Boston, 1911.

234 Catiline his Conspiracy

JONSON, B. The Alchemist. Ed. C. M. Hathawy. New
York, 1903.

- The Devil is an Ass. Ed. W. S. Johnson. New
York, 1905.

- The New Inn. Ed. G. B. Tennant. New York,
1908.

- The Poetaster. Ed H. S. Mallory. New York,

1905.

The Staple of News. Ed. D. Winter. New York,
1905.

- Timber. Ed. F. E. Schelling. Boston, 1892.

- Works. Ed. H. C. Hart. 2 vols. London, 1906.
JUVENAL. Satires. Ed. C. F. Heinrich. Bonn, 1839.

- Thirteen Satires. Ed. J. B. Mayor. London, 1880.
KOEPPEL, E. Quellen-Studien zu Ben Jonson. Berlin, 1852.
KUHNEMANN, E. Schiller. Amer. ed., Boston, 1912.
LITTLEDALE, H. (Ed.). Dyce's Glossary to Shakespeare.

London, 1902.
LIVY. History of Rome. Ed. W. Weissenborn. Leipzig,

1873-
LUCAN. Pharsalia. Ed. C. Haskins. London, 1887.

- Pharsalia. Ed. M. Nisard. Paris, 1837.
LYLY, J. Works. Ed. R. W. Bond. Oxford, 1902.
MANLY, J. M. Influence of Seneca upon Early English

Drama (in Tragedies of Seneca, tr. F. J. Miller).

Chicago, 1907.

MARTIAL. Epigrams. Ed. W. Gilbert. Leipzig, 1901.
MASSINGER, P. Works. Ed. A. Symons. London (Mermaid

Series).
MEINCK, C. Uber das Ortliche und Zeitliche Kolorit in

Shakespeare's Romerdramen und Ben Jonson 's Catiline.

Halle, 1910.

MERIMEE, P. Etudes sur 1'Histoire Romaine. Paris, 1883.
MILTON, J. Works. Ed. D. Masson. London, 1874.
MOMMSEN, T. History of Rome. Amer. ed., New York,

1895-

NARES, R. Glossary. Ed. Halliwell- Wright. 2 vols. Lon
don, 1859.

Bibliography

235

N.E.D. New English Dictionary.

NETTLETON, G. H. English Drama of the Restoration and

Eighteenth Century. New York, 1914.
OVID. Works. Delphin Classics.
PAUL, H. G. John Dennis. New York, 1911.
PAULY, A. (Ed.). Real-Encylopadie der Classischen Alter-

thumswissenschaft. Stuttgart, 1844. New edition by

G. Wissowa. Stuttgart, 1894.
PECK, H. T. (Ed.) Harper's Classical Dictionary. New

York, 1896.
PEPYS, S. Diary. Ed. H. B. Wheatley. 9 vols. London,

1896.
PETRONIUS. Satires. Ed. F. Buecheler. Berlin, 1882.

- Trimalchio's Dinner. Tr. H.T. Peck. New York, 1898.
PINDAR. Works. Ed. W. Christ. Leipzig, 1899.

PLINY. Natural History. Delphin Classics.
PLUTARCH. Lives. Ed. T. Doehner. Paris, 1847.

- Lives. Tr. A. H. Clough, 1876.

RACINE. Works. Ed. P. Mesnard. Paris, 1885.

ROSCHER, W. H. (Ed.) Ausfuhrliches Lexikon der Griechi-
schen und Romischen Mythologie. Leipzig, 1884-1909.

SALLUST. Catilina. Ed. C. Merivale. London, 1888.

SCHELLING, F. E. Ben Jonson and the Classical School.
Baltimore, 1898.

Elizabethan Drama. 2 vols. Boston, 1908.

- English Literature during the Lifetime of Shake
speare. New York, 1910.

SCHILLER, W. F. Works. Ed. Guenter-Withowski. Leip
zig, 1910.

SCHMIDT, A. Shakespeare-Lexikon. 2 vols. Berlin, 1902.

SENECA. Works. Ed. F. Haase. Leipzig, 1871.

- Works. Ed. J. Pierrot. Paris, 1829.

- Morals. Ed. W. Clode. London, 1888.
Tragedies. Ed. F. Leo. Berlin, 1878.

SPECK, H. B. G. Katilina im Drama der Weltliteratur.

Leipzig, 1906.

SPENSER, E. Works. Ed. R. Morris. London, 1869.
STRABO. Geography. Ed. G. Kramer. Berlin, 1852.

236 Catiline his Conspiracy

STRABO. Geography. Tr. Hamilton-Falconer. London, 1856.
SUTCLIFFE, E. G. The Influence of Ben Jonson on Restora
tion Drama (unpublished). Urbana, 1914.
SUETONIUS. Works. Delphin Classics.
SWINBURNE, A. C. A Study of Ben Jonson. New York,

1889.
SYMONDS, J. A. Ben Jonson. New York, 1886 (English

Worthies).

TACITUS. Annals. Ed. K. Nipperdey. Berlin, 1892.
TAINE, H. A. Histoire de la Litterature Anglaise. Paris,

1911.
THUCYDIDES. Works. Tr. B. Jowett. Amer. ed., New York,

1884 (?).
TISSOT, J. J. Life of Christ (pictorial). Amer. ed., New

York, 1892.

VERGIL. Works. Delphin Classics.
VELLEIUS PATERCLUS. Ed. F. Haase. Leipzig, 1874.
VOGT, A. Ben Jonson 's Tragodie Catiline His Conspiracy

und ihre Quellen. Halle, 1905.
VOLTAIRE. Works. Paris, 1764.
WARD, A. W. A History of English Dramatic Literature

to the Death of Queen Anne. London, 1899.
WRIGHT, A. P. A Study of Ben Jonson 's Catiline with

Special Reference to its Sources (unpublished). New

Haven, 1907.

WRIGHT, J. English Dialect Dictionary. London, 1903.
WRIGHT, T. Dictionary of Obsolete and Provincial English.

London, 1857.

YALE STUDIES IN ENGLISH
ALBERT S. COOK, EDITOR

I. The Foreign Sources of Modern English Versification.

CHARLTON M. LEWIS, Ph.D. $0.50.
II. ^Elfric : A New Study of his Life and Writings. CAROLINE

LOUISA WHITE, Ph.D. $1.50.
in. The Life of St. Cecilia, from MS. Ashmole 43 and MS.

Cotton Tiberius E. VII, with Introduction, Variants, and

Glossary. BERTHA ELLEN LOVEWELL, Ph.D. $1.00.
IV. Dryden's Dramatic Theory and Practice. MARGARET SHER
WOOD, Ph.D. $0.50.
V. Studies in Jonson's Comedy. ELISABETH WOODBRIDGE,

Ph.D. $0.50.
VI. A Glossary of the West Saxon Gospels, Latin-West Saxon

and West Saxon-Latin. MATTIE ANSTICE HARRIS, Ph.D.

$1.50.
VII. Andreas : The Legend of St. Andrew, translated from the

Old English, with an Introduction. ROBERT KILBURN

ROOT, Ph.D. $0.50.
VIE. The Classical Mythology of Milton's English Poems.

CHARLES GROSVENOR OSGOOD, Ph.D. $1.00.
IX. A Guide to the Middle English Metrical Romances dealing

with English and Germanic Legends, and with the

Cycles of Charlemagne and of Arthur. ANNA HUNT

BILLINGS, Ph.D. $1.50.
X. The Earliest Lives of Dante, translated irom the Italian of

Giovanni Boccaccio and Lionardo Bruni Aretino. JAMES

ROBINSON SMITH. $0.75.
XL A Study in Epic Development. IRENE T. MYERS, Ph.D.

$1.00.

XH. The Short Story. HENRY SEIDEL CANBY, Ph.D. $0.30.
. King Alfred's Old English Version of St. Augustine's

Soliloquies, edited with Introduction, Notes, and

Glossary. HENRY LEE HARGROVE, Ph.D. $1.00.

Yale Studies in English

XIV. The Phonology of the Northumbrian Gloss of St.

Matthew. EMILY HOWARD FOLEY, Ph.D. $0.75.
XV. Essays on the Study and Use of Poetry by Plutarch
and Basil the Great, translated from the Greek,
with an Introduction. FREDERICK M. PADELFORD,
Ph.D. $0.75.

XVI. The Translations of Beowulf: A Critical Bibliography.

CHAUNCEY B. TINKER, Ph.D. $0.75.

XVII. The Alchemist, by Ben Jonson, edited with Intro
duction, Notes, and Glossary. CHARLES M. HATHA
WAY, JR., Ph.D. $2.50. Cloth, $3.00.

XVm. The Expression of Purpose in Old English Prose.
HUBERT GIBSON SHEARIN, Ph.D. $1.00.

XIX. Classical Mythology in Shakespeare. ROBERT KILBURN
ROOT, Ph.D. $1.00.

XX. The Controversy between the Puritans and the Stage.
ELBERT N. S. THOMPSON, Ph.D. $2.00.

XXI. The Elene of Cynewulf, translated into English Prose.

Lucius HUDSON HOLT, Ph.D. $0.30.

XXII. King Alfred's Old English Version of St. Augustine's
Soliloquies, turned into Modern English. HENRY LEE
HARGROVE, Ph.D. $0.75.

XXIII. The Cross in the Life and Literature of the Anglo-Saxons.

WILLIAM O. STEVENS, Ph.D. $0.75.

XXIV. An Index to the Old English Glosses of the Durham

Hymnarium. HARVEY W. CHAPMAN. $0.75.
XXV. Bartholomew Fair, by Ben Jonson, edited with Introduc
tion, Notes, and Glossary. CARROLL STORRS ALDEN,
Ph.D. $2.00.
XXVI. Select Translations from Scaliger's Poetics. FREDERICK

M. PADELFORD, Ph.D. $0.75.

XXVII. Poetaster, by Ben Jonson, edited with Introduction,
Notes, and Glossary. HERBERT S. MALLORY, Ph.D.
$2.00. Cloth, $2.50.

XXVIII. The Staple of News, by Ben Jonson, edited with
Introduction, Notes, and Glossary. DE WINTER,
Ph.D. $2.00. Cloth, $2.50.

Tale Studies in English

XXIX. The Devil is an Ass, by Ben Jonson, edited with In
troduction, Notes, and Glossary. WILLIAM SAVAGE
JOHNSON, Ph.D. $2.00. Cloth, $2.50.

XXX. The Language of the Northumbrian Gloss to the
Gospel of St. Luke. MARGARET DUTTON KEU.UM,
Ph.D. $0.75.

XXXI. Epiccene, by Ben Jonson, edited with Introduction,
Notes, and Glossary. AURELIA HENRY, Ph.D. $2.00.
Cloth, $2.50.

XXXII. The Syntax of the Temporal Clause in Old English
Prose. ARTHUR ADAMS, Ph.D. $1.00.

XXXIII. The Knight of the Burning Pestle, by Beaumont and

Fletcher, edited with Introduction, Notes, and
Glossary. HERBERT S. MURCH, Ph.D. $2.00. Cloth,
$2.50.

XXXIV. The New Inn, by Ben Jonson, edited with Intro

duction, Notes, and Glossary. GEORGE BREMNER
TENNANT, Ph.D. $2.00. Cloth, $2.50.

XXXV. A Glossary of Wulfstan's Homilies. LORING H. DODD,

Ph.D. $1.00.

XXXVI. The Complaint of Nature, translated from the Latin
of Alain de Lille. DOUGLAS M. MOFFAT. $0.75.
XXXVII. The Collaboration of Webster and Dekker. FRED
ERICK ERASTUS PIERCE, Ph.D. $1.00.

XXXVIII. English Nativity Plays, edited with Introduction,
Notes, and Glossary. SAMUEL B. HEMINGWAY, Ph.D.
$2.00. Cloth $2.50.
XXXIX. Concessive Constructions in Old English Prose.

JOSEPHINE MAY BURNHAM, Ph.D. $1.00.
XL. The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates, by John Milton,
edited with Introduction and Notes. WILLIAM
TALBOT ALLISON, Ph.D. $1.25.
XLI. Biblical Quotations in Middle English Literature

before 1350. MARY W. SMYTH, Ph.D. $2.00.
XLII. The Dialogue in English Literature. ELIZABETH
MERRILL, Ph.D. $1.00.

Tale Studies In English

XLIII. A Study of Tindale's Genesis, compared with the

Genesis of Coverdale and of the Authorized Version.

ELIZABETH WHITTLESEY CLEAVELAND, Ph.D. $2.00.

XLIV. The Presentation of Time in the Elizabethan Drama.

MABLE BULAND, Ph.D. $1.50.

XLV. Cynthia's Revels, or, The Fountain of Self-Love, by

Ben Jonson, edited with Introduction, Notes, and

Glossary. ALEXANDER CORBIN JUDSON, Ph.D. $2.00.

XL VI. Richard Brome: A Study of his Life and Works.

CLARENCE EDWARD ANDREWS, Ph.D. $1.25.

XL VII. The Magnetic Lady, or, Humors Reconciled, by Ben

Jonson, edited with Introduction, Notes, and

Glossary. HARVEY WHITEFIELD PECK, Ph.D. $2.00

XL VIII. Genesis A, translated from the Old English. LAWRENCE

MASON, Ph.D. $0.75.

XLIX. The Later Version of the Wycliffite Epistle to the
Romans, compared with the Latin Original:
A Study of Wycliffite English. EMMA CURTISS
TUCKER, Ph.D. $1.50.

L. Some Accounts of the Bewcastle Cross between
the Years 1607 and 1861. ALBERT STANBURROUGH
COOK. $1.50.

LI. The Ready and Easy Way to Establish a Free
Commonwealth, by John Milton, edited with In
troduction, Notes, and Glossary. EVERT MORDECAI
CLARK, PH.D. $1.50.

LII. Every Man in his Humor, by Ben Jonson, edited
with Introduction, Notes, and Glossary. HENRY
HOLLAND CARTER, Ph.D. $2.00.

LIII. Catiline his Conspiracy, by Ben Jonson, edited with
Introduction, Notes, and Glossary. LYNN HAROLD
HARRIS, Ph.D. $2.00.

•I'M

'

I

fc

PR Jonson, Ben

2608 Catiline, his conspiracy

A2H3

1916

PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE
CARDS OR SLIPS FROM THIS POCKET

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY